For Want Of A Knight
by Aravas
Summary: Two idiots decide it would be a spiffing great idea to break the resident knight's heart. It ends badly and kickstarts an epic war for love at Beacon.
1. Chapter 1: Well fuck

**Wheey**** first fanfic!**

**At first it was an idea for a oneshot, but then the idea grew…**

**To think that this started with me listening to The Hunger Never Dies by Ravenous**

**I hope you like reading this!**

**Please note: English is not my first language, so i could be making some mistakes.**

**Have fun!**

For Want Of A Knight

It was a nice afternoon at Beacon Academy. Birds were singing, the sun shone…

And two students from Atlas conversed with each other.

"Did you see his reaction though?! Oh Oum, that was hilarious," one Fuchsia Sarn laughed.

"I know, right?" her partner and boyfriend, Shwartz Kutte, breathed out. "He just shut down, like…" He imitated a computer shutdown noise. ''That was priceless!''

"To think that loser actually thought I liked him! What do I look like, some stupid, impressionable wallflower?," the pink-haired huntress-in-training exclaimed in near-sadistic glee.

"Best prank ever!," the raven-haired Atlesian concurred.

Strutting through the hallways of the Academy, they encountered a peculiar figure. Clad in regular uniform and towering over the both of them, Cardin Winchester looked at the both of them in a bemused fashion.

"Ey, you," he greeted Fuchsia nonchalantly, "Aren't you Jauney-boys girlfriend he told me about?"

Fuchsia looked at him before bursting into laughter. A obnoxious sound reminding one of a motor starting, but in reverse. "Oh yeah, that weakling. I never was interested in him in the first place!"

Cardin raised an eyebrow while inconspicuously putting his hand into his pocket. "Pardon?"

"You heard me. I only pretended to be interested in that idiot to see him break and cry."

"Shame he just shut down," Shwartz chimed in. "Oh well, that was fun to see anyways," he giggled, remembering the blonde knight's expression.

Cardin remained calm outwardly. After an incident at Forever Fall, he turned his life around and, after apologizing, bothered to get to know the comparatively weak Huntsman. He found him to be a surprisingly cool dude with a metric fuckton of various talents not necessarily related to being a Huntsman. Looking back, Cardin had chided himself for being, essentially, an immature prick.

Thus, the Winchester scion was all too gleeful to reveal a little something.

"You know that you guys just signed your own death warrant, right?"

The two asshats looked at him, bewildered expressions on their faces.

"Yeah, see, the guy you two were putting down because it tickled your privates or whatever has quite a few loyal friends."

"Yeah, well we don't-"

"I also recorded your little confession there", Cardin confessed, showing the scroll in his pocket.

"So?," an all too confident Shwartz asked.

_'Was I such a cocky fuck back then?,'_ Cardin asked himself, before pushing the thought aside.

"You don't know what team he is on, do you?"

"Probably some weak ass team", Fuchsia shrugged, indifferent.

_'Oh, this is going to be a blast.'_

"You'll see. Though I suggest you start running away and hiding."

Shwartz rolled his eyes at the apparently empty threat. "Whatever. Come on, babe."

"It's your funeral."

"Whatever," Fuchsia repeated.

Cardin shrugged. '_Can't say I didn't warn them'._

/-/

"Weirdo," Fuchsia sneered, blowing the encounter off. "do you think he is friends with that loser?

"Probably his teammate," answered her boyfriend, shrugging. "Dunno what he meant though."

"Probably nothi-"

A sound rent through Beacon. Nay, a cacophony of sounds. _Screams_. Screams and bellows of grief, agony and, predominantly, rage. A symphony to haunt the dreams and nightmares of the two forevermore.

Pure, unadulterated rage, expressed either in wordless screams or various colorful phrases. All of the words holding the same message.

_Time to whoop somebodies ass._

"The fuck was that?," Shwartz asked, slightly intimidated.

"Probably that guy, trying to scare us." She faked a guffaw. "Please. Everyone and their old grandparents can see that that was so fake."

The wall exploded, as if commanded.

The person stepping, no, _jumping_ out of the hole had a long luscious mane, billowing brilliantly like a flame.

This luscious mane framed a face warped in sheer wrath, eyes glowing a menacing red.

Yang Xiao Long, the blonde brawler herself, considered the third strongest in her year.

And she was out for their blood.

"YOU!", she bellowed, charging forward.

It was not skill that saved them from the devastating punch, but rather sheer instinct and the need to survive.

They barely ducked under the swing, pure instinct and common sense driving them to run the fuck away from the buxom beauty.

"HOLY SHIT!" the Atlesians screamed running down the hallway, as fast as was possible, away from _her_.

Another wall exploded, way too close for comfort.

This time, a ginger girl with a massive warhammer stood in the hole. Her smile was far too wide to be considered friendly and did not reach her eyes. Those shone with a barely concealed bloodlust.

Behind her stood her partner, a ninja in all but name. Usually incredibly stoic, his face sported a grim frown, eyes hardened and fixated towards them.

"HEEERE'S NORA!" the hammer-wielder proclaimed.

The Atlesians now ran even faster. Now there were three people on their tail. All they had done was playing a prank on someone!

Far too scared to be thinking rationally, they ignored a black glyph in front of them.

A black ribbon shot out, binding Fuchsias leg, as Shwartz was flying upward thanks to the trap on the ground.

'_You have GOT to be shitting me right now.'_

None other than Blake Belladonna, the black clad ninja, was binding Fuchsia's leg right now. The Atlesian Huntress-in-Training barely managed to free her leg from the confines, before the blade attached to the ribbon smashed down on where she laid.

Lucky her that the ribbon loosened when Blake approached.

To put the final bun on the shit sandwich supreme, Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company and the second best fighter in Beacon, approached the two, ice cold glare leveled at them and rapier in hand.

It took the two all the willpower they had left not to freeze in place and run away, further down the hall.

And of course, if these three were at the same place…

...then the leader of Team RWBY was not far away.

Sharpened glare in her silver eyes, sharpened edge of the weapon in her hands, primed for a swipe, Ruby Rose stepped out of a cloud of rose petals.

The two rolled over the swipe, Crescent Rose missing them by a hair's breadth.

"Split up!" Shwartz screamed, taking the left at an upcoming intersection.

Fuchsia, all too panicked to register her partner's cowardice, took the right on a gut feeling.

The girls and the sole boy all charged after her.

"Success!" cheered the coward. "Sorry, babe, but you gotta learn how to handle yourself."

A staff smacked him upside the head.

Shwartz, seeing stars, whipped around to look at his assailant.

One particularly irate monkey faunus scowled down at him.

"Found'cha, asshole!"

His teammates were not far behind.

This just wasn't fair.

/-/

What was happening?

The day was beginning so nicely. A nice breakfast, breaking some insignificant nobodies' heart and a nice walk around the foreign school had devolved in a flight for her life.

Team RWBY, an entire team of premiere huntresses, was chasing her around, followed by some hammer psycho and her twink boyfriend.

And it got WORSE.

One Arslan Atlan from Mistral and her teammate, Reese Chloris, had joined the hunt and started throwing things at Fuchsia.

Benches, trashcans, bullets via the help of the usual bullet propulsion systems that were colloquially known as 'guns'.

You know, the works.

As if that was not enough, other projectiles joined in chasing after the running girl.

Blasts of wind, throwing knives and _fuckmothering crossbow bolts, _courtesy of Team NDGO, had joined the fray.

Running for her dear life, her stamina waning, she was resorting to something else. A simple plan, born out of pure desperation rather than cunning.

She jumped out of the window.

From the third floor.

Fuchsia grabbed onto the ledge under the window, smashed through the window below that one and …

Hid in a trash can.

"WHERE IS THAT BITCH?!" the voice of the brawler screamed out from the floor above.

"Are the bullheads on lockdown?" the catlike ninja asked in return.

"CRDL, Yatsu and Fox are guarding the docks. These two are not leaving Beacon unharmed!" The heiresses furious voice could be heard.

"Search the school!" Ruby demanded. "I want her FOUND!"

Meanwhile, in her hiding place, Fuchsia was crying in silence, though this time not out of fear.

Her overly expensive clothes had been in contact with some gum wrappers and various other remains of eaten snacks and were basically ruined.

/-/

Shwartz Kutte was running for dear life.

The entirety of Team SSSN was on his ass. Weapons out and ready to bring the pain, they were chasing the callous coward throughout the school.

A glimmer of hope seemed to shine on the proverbial horizon, however, as he saw a pair of bunny ears and some fashionable glasses, respectively attached to two second-year huntresses.

The bunny faunus was a shy one and would definitely be confused enough to at least stall the group of idiots long enough so Shwartz could hide.

The hope did not last long.

Upon seeing him, The faunus cracked an uncharacteristically large, vicious grin, her arm reaching behind her back.

Beside her, the fashionista engaged her infamous handbag-gatling hybrid. How exactly she managed to ram that thing in there was a mystery for the ages.

Shame he did not have the time to ponder the wonder of the piece of engineering, as its muzzles were pointed exactly at him.

Alongside a copy of the same weapon, shimmering blue and held in the hands of a very bloodthirsty bunny.

"DIE!" she screamed, all too gleefully, as the barrels rotated.

"Ey, stop it! You're gonna shoot us!" one of the boy band behind Shwartz yelled out.

He sped up.

Barely slipping between the huntresses, narrowly avoiding their devastating swings, the Atlesian leapt down the hall.

A somewhat satisfying clang of metal informed him how the two huntresses were now entangled via their weapons.

"Dammit, Vel! Call off your weapon!"

"Way ahead of ya. Let's get the cunt!"

Mildly jarring, hearing the cute bunny faunus cursing like that.

Shwartz had, however, some _fresh and new_ problems arising.

Or rather, blocking off his path.

"End of the line, fucko", Brawnz Ni snarled, fists ready. Behind him, his team was all too ready to bring the hurt. The sniper girl, May Zedong, had her weapon aiming right at the fugitive's forehead.

Shwartz said nothing. Instead, he decided to flee…

Right towards them.

Caught by surprise, BRNZ did little but gawk at the sudden brazenness of their prey.

Shwartz laughed in triumph, even more so when he recognized the figure approaching the gaggle of students.

Glynda Goodwitch, deputy headmistress, combat instructor and feared disciplinarian of Beacon Academy was walking towards them, glare in place and riding crop in hand.

Finally, the goose chase was over. Finally, those psychopaths would be punished, he could relax at long last!

"Mr Kutte, I presume," the fearsome teacher spoke up to the student before her. The adressed was coughing, out of breath and stamina from the hunt. His every muscle screaming for rest.

"Yes, ma'am. You see, these people suddenly started chasing me for no reason-"

"Bullshit!"

"Mr Porfirio, language!"

Nolan stiffened. "Yes, ma'am!"

Shwartz wanted to laugh. He was saved! These idiots would get their dues.

"Mr Kutte, do you have an explanation for this?"

"Ma'am, no, ma'am."

Roy Stallion piped up. "Miss Goodwitch, with all due respect, that guy is lying through his teeth."

Shwartz grinned. They had no proof of that. None whatsoever!

"I am well aware."

…

what.

Before he could register the words in full, Shwartz Kutte found himself careening through the window towards the city of Vale.

/-/

'_Are they gone?'_

Silently and shaking with disgust at her situation within her hiding place, Fuchsia Sarn emerged from the trash can, where she rightfully belonged.

At least, that was the obvious opinion of her pursuers, who were nowhere in sight.

The fugitive would rather be litterally – pardon – _literally_ anywhere else than Beacon right now. Except that she was trapped like a mouse in a cage, with six people guarding the damn Bullhead docks.

Fuchsia heard steps and froze, slowly looking towards their source.

She wanted to break down and cry in relief right then and there. Pyrrha Nikos, famed champion of Mistral, nicknamed the Invincible Girl, was looking at her, obvious worry in her expression.

"Dear Oum, what happened? Are you okay?"

_Does it look like I am? _Is what she wanted to say right now, but refrained from doing so. Her savior had arrived, and she would not insult her like this.

"Not really, no," Fuchsia quipped. "I played a prank on someone and it kinda went wrong, so a bunch of people were chasing me." This was close enough to the truth that the red spartan would not question it. "I swear, it was a harmless prank!" Okay, that one was a lie, but she did not need to know that one, now, did she?

Fuchsia bent over to catch the breath she had to hold for the longest fucking time. She breathed in and out deeply, hands resting on her knees, facing the ground.

"Truly?" the champion inquired.

_'Yes, dammit!' _she wanted to yell, but wheezed instead as an answer.

A hand found her shoulder. It calmed the runaway's frayed nerves with a gentle squeeze.

"I somehow find it hard to believe that deceiving a young man by expressing romantic interest in him, only to break his heart after a while, to be a 'harmless prank', as you put it."

Fuchsia froze. The grip on her shoulder tightened.

_'How did she know that?'_

"Did you really think that breaking Jaune's heart would go unpunished?"

The callous girl was thrown against the wall.

"MY partner?"

There was no warmth left in her voice, only unmistakable venom.

"MY team leader?"

_'Are you kidding me?! That guy was her partner and her leader?!'_

"The love of my life? The one and only man whom I ever desired?!" The champion was screaming now.

_'Has the world gone mad?' _was all Fuchsia thought before her brain froze in fear.

Peering over the shoulders of the amazon and standing to her sides were the scowling, sneering and _apocalyptically angry_ faces of her various pursuers. To really drive the point home of how fucked she was right now, three others had joined the gaggle of hunters.

One guy with grey hair wearing a jumpsuit, who, in the visiting student's opinion, looked like an angry chicken.

One girl with green hair and chocolate skin, glaring at her out of deep red eyes.

And what was, perhaps, the pinnacle of dark beauty, peering down at her with amber eyes full of contempt and sheer malice.

"You came to the wrong school, bitch," the short ginger girl declared with sadistic glee.

/-/

Battered and bruised, a youth with black hair stumbled into a bar.

Shwartz barely survived the onslaught, thanks to his Aura – which broke after the impact in a large waste disposal unit.

The only saving grace from that was that is was filled with discarded packaging, cushioning his fall without making a stink.

He did _not_ expect to be flung out a window today, less so by the resident disciplinarian. Even _more_ unexpectedly, said disciplinarian was just as out for blood as the other students.

"What will it be, kid?" the bearded barman asked in a gruff voice.

"Something strong. Vodka," grumbled the student. Two young women noticed him sitting at the bar, looking sullen.

"What happened to you?" one of them, clad in red, asked him.

_'Twins? Really? Well, sorry Fuchsia, baby, but Shwartz is getting lucky tonight!'_

"Prank gone wrong. Don't really wanna talk about it."

"Awww," cooed the one dressed in white, looking at him in an anything but innocent manner. "Not even a little bit?"

"Now, now, girls. Let's leave the man be," a man piped up.

Shwartz turned to look at the guy who effectively cock blocked him. The gentleman was finely dressed in a white trench coat, a dashing hat adorning his ginger-haired head. His neck decorated with an orange ascot that complimented his overall color palette.

Along with the guyliner, that dude was the most dapper motherfucker the criminal underworld had ever seen.

Not that the Atlesian knew. Or shared the opinion. The guyliner was a bit much.

By his side was a rather small girl. Well, small in stature. The curves on her immediately told Shwartz that she was done growing.

_'A shortstack? Guy hit the jackpot.'_

The next thing the young runaway noticed was the strangely colored hair. A chocolate brown with a streak of pink in it, complimenting her heterochromatic eyes of the same colors. Overall a very pretty girl.

Her expression, however, was unsettling. A malicious smirk with half-lidded eyes directed solely at him.

"Erm..."

"Don't mind Neo. She's in a stabby mood."

Stabby?

"Frankly, so am I."

What?

"After all, some punk decided to piss on the only guy in town who appreciates a well clothed gentleman such as I."

"Well, um..."

"Said guy is also real good friends with Neo here. He makes Sorbets that are to kill for."

"Kill?"

"Did I stutter?" The man faced him, glaring. "Did I, _punk_?"

Uh oh.

The twins suddenly had their weapons out of nowhere, one with claws, the other showing off some stilettos with a kickboxing stance. Neo's smirk turned into a toothy grin, one of her eyes changing color to pink to match the other.

And the barman? Instead of doing the sensible thing and calling the police, he whipped out a club that could double as a rocket launcher.

Judging by his luck so far, it very well was.

"Scheisse," Shwartz whimpered in the old mantle tongue.

/-/

It was a good morning, Ozpin found.

The headmaster of Beacon Academy and secretly immortal body surfing wizard enjoyed one of humanity's greatest inventions on that beautiful morning.

Coffee.

The elevator chimed. Ozpin secretly hoped it wasn't Glynda, here to pester him with things that could either wait till noon or be completely ignored.

The lucky stars seemed to shine for Ozpin. Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck strutted through the elevator doors in his usual hasty fashion. The headmaster hoped that he was here to share a new or rare brand of coffee with him.

These hopes were dashed when Ozpin beheld the expression on his fellow coffee lover; concern and fear evident on his face.

"Is something wrong, Bart?"

"Well, yes. Did you hear the commotion yesterday?"

"I did." Truthfully, the headmaster could have gone without it. The noise seemed to be _everywhere._

"Apparently, two of the Atlesian students decided it would be a fun idea to play a trick on Mr Arc."

Oh boy. Mr Arc was, unbeknownst to the young man himself, one of _the most_ wanted singles in his year, perhaps even in Beacon history.

Unknown to Mr Arc was also that his secret was not so secret anymore. Someone had, while he was shopping in Vale, leaked his fraudulent transcripts to the public in Beacon.

After a brief discussion of the topic, the students seemed to have agreed that, if he was competent enough to survive this far, that they could give Mr Arc the benefit of the doubt.

So they opted to train him.

What they found out that way was that the blonde knight absorbed knowledge like a sponge, learning much faster than anyone else.

The fact that he remained humble throughout, even cheering the others on and occasionally offering surprising insights, ended up endearing him greatly to the Beacon students as well as the transfers from all over Remnant.

Ozpin, to his great elation, found the Huntresses and Huntsmen of the next generation to not give a shit over someone's lack of training, thus not acting like spoiled children.

The wizard noted to himself that only the students who had been present at Beacon during the leak knew of Mr Arc's transcripts in the first place.

"Why exactly did they target him? And what, pray tell did they do?"

Out of malice and sadism, apparently.

Ozpin found himself disappointed in the two. "Where are they now?

Oobleck explained: "Mr Arc has successfully recuperated from the shock, as far as I could judge. As for the other two, Miss Sarn had to be admitted to Beacon's infirmary for intensive care."

Well, damn.

"Mr Kutte was found naked in Vale in the early morning hours. He was tarred and feathered and was crying about a, and I quote verbatim, 'scary-ass midget'."

Ozpin fought back his amusement at hearing his colleague say that, though it did not answer the most pertinent question.

"What has you so scared, then?"

The history buff swallowed hard.

"It is not known to Beacon at large yet, Sir…" a pause. "But I fear that the armistice is now null and void."

Faced with this revelation, the eloquent headmaster found the most succinct words to describe the current situation.

"Fuck me sideways."


	2. Chapter 2: Broken Armistice

**Hello there!**

**I was blown away by the reception my very first work received and thusly decided to go all out today.**

**You guys have no idea how much the reviews mean to me. This is pure awesome.**

**I also had far too much fun writing Cinder's section here. As is probably evident.**

**Anyway, enjoy reading!**

**Edit: Fixed Arslan's surname. Thanks to SomberFlight!**

For Want Of A Knight

Chapter 2: Broken Armistice

Jaune's day started of fairly well, if he took yesterday into consideration. What happened had reminded him of his days at a public school. Darker days, ones he would not like to remember. Those were the ones where he truly felt like a pariah.

It was a reason not to tell anyone at Beacon about it. He wanted for people to like him for himself, not out of pity or some other reason.

It _did_ hurt, hearing what his very first girlfriend had to say to him. It was, in hindsight, a good thing he did not inform most of his friends about his changed relationship status. Nora would have _definitely_ broken some legs. The only one knowing was Cardin, and only because Jaune knew for a fact that the mace wielder could keep a secret.

Imagine his surprise when he walked by the opened infirmary door, only to see his now ex–girlfriend heavily bandaged on one of the beds.

"What in the world happened?"

"Oh hey, Jaune! What's up? Sun piped up, seemingly out of nowhere.

One blonde turned to the other. "Sun! Could you tell me what happened to Fuchsia?"

A brief silence. The fellow team leader and blonde looked nervous, apprehensive for a bit while he looked over to the injured girl.

"She fell down some stairs."

Silence.

"What?"

"Yeah, dude, she just...fell," Sun explained. Jaune immediately wanted to call shenanigans. One does not just fall down a flight and break their everything.

"How is that possible?"

"Oh hey Jaune, howzit going?" Neptune greeted, walking up to the two blondes he openly counted amongst his best friends. "You talking about the girl there?"

"Yup. Sun told me she fell down some stairs."

"Oh yeah, I was there," Nep exclaimed, sudden horror on his face. "It was a bloodbath. I swear I never saw someone fall down a flight _that_ hard. Must me a semblance or something."

Somewhere, a crow sneezed. It then wondered how in the actual _fuck_ it did that.

Jaune's eyebrow rose sceptically. He still called shenanigans. However, part of him acknowledged it as karma for what she had done to him. A rather small part of him, but a part nonetheless.

Oh well.

"I suppose," Jaune conceded. "Say, I am in the mood for Sunday cooking. Any wishes?"

Sun's eyes might as well have flared with pure light in his excitement. "Do I?!"

"Sun, behave," chided Neptune, feeling every bit like a team mom. He would be a sexy ass mom.

'_Where did that thought come from?_' the mom of Team SSSN asked himself.

"Now, now, it's alright", Jaune laughed, sounding like a father convincing the mother to let the kid have fun.

Odd how they had that synergy going on. Then again, neptune did develop his own little crush. Which was not based on seeing him rocking a dress and threatening him with an ass-whooping while still wearing it; don't know what you're talking about.

"I did offer, after all. Say, Sun, you like bananas, if I recall right, yes?"

"Eeyup! I like the taste. And they are rich in potassium!" Sun answered, almost proud of how much he seemed to be stereotypically monkey.

"How about banana bread then? It has been a while since I made some."

Sun looked upon his fellow team leader like a mortal upon a god. Like a glorious prophet of olden times bringing forth the wisdom of the stars. Purveying the blessed words to mankind's salvation and eternal prosperity. These thrice-blessed words echoed throughout his mind.

_Banana bread._

"That's a thing?", the stunned faunus finally asked.

"Yup. What, never had one before?" Sun shook his head frantically.

"Then it's decided!" the Arc laughed and made way to the kitchen.

Sun made to follow, only to be held back by Neptune. "'Fell downs some stairs', are you for real dude?" the blue-haired boy hissed.

"It was the first thing that came to mind!" Sun defended himself while doing his best to follow his new lord and savior. "I don't see you with a better excuse as to why she is all battered!"

The aquaphobe grumbled. "Point conceded. Just don't blow our cover. He does not need to know a thing."

/-/

What constitutes attraction?

Cinder Fall, the fiery witch and Fall Maiden to be, once more pondered about her current situation.

It had seemed all too simple. For the sake of gathering intelligence and, perhaps, gaining an edge over the invincible girl, she had opted to get acquainted with her partner, the weakest huntsman in all of Beacon.

Almost too easy. The young man was an open book, openly answering her every question about life at Beacon (fun, according to him), his motivation to be a huntsman (to be a hero and help people, how deliciously naive), and Pyrrha (incredibly helpful).

Then he turned the questions around.

"What about you?" he asked.

That surprised her. Seeing as she had nothing else to do at the time, she decided to indulge the dolt.

She told him of how she yearned for power. The power to create her own destiny; to carve out her own place in the world, unhindered by others and unbound by anything.

His next question was so simple. So utterly simple that it could seemingly be answered with ease. Create some white lie about how she would then live on her own, unbothered and free. Her true ambition, to rule the world as its sole sovereign.

"And then what?"

She could not answer that.

Three words. Three words had unraveled her very goals for the future. Her ambition, seemingly fruitless, going nowhere.

And then what, indeed? Would she actually want to bother with the tiresome politics, governing over the people? Would she burn Remnant, be the queen over the ashes?

What would there be to do?

She needed a distraction. One in form of a game she had learned to cherish. One that had helped her to dream of the furthest goal of her ambitions; rule over all of Remnant in conquest, her foes effortlessly crushed under her very heel.

She decided to invite the foolish knight to a match, thinking him easy prey, repaying him for mildly annoying her.

It turned out that she had forgotten one of the most important lessons in life.

Never, _ever_, judge a book by its cover.

That day, Cinder almost flipped her proverbial shit by nearly toppling the table in pure frustration. How the hell the clueless, naive dolt turned out to be a gifted strategist was beyond her.

How he managed to smuggle _multiple units_ of Valean Chevaliers, one of the most powerful units in the game, behind her very lines baffled her.

How he seemed to have an answer to her every move, seemingly anticipating even the slightest twitch of her finger…

It intrigued her.

They got to talking once more. She admitted to not having a plan for what comes after she realized her ambitions. He, in all his naivete, suggested finding a hobby, pursuing it someplace quiet or someplace loud, whatever she preferred.

Living a good life, or at least one she herself could consider good, would be one of the greatest things to do with one's life.

It sounded ridiculous, but the more she thought about it, the more appealing she found it. After all, showing that you live a content life was its own showcasing of power. Power over yourself.

And the more she thought about it, the more she looked at him.

His eyes, the calming, watery blue to her fiery amber.

His hair, the radiant light to her mane of spun darkness.

His very soul, untarnished compared to her, one who had seen the eyes of the devil.

They could not be any more different.

And yet, she thought about him. Her gaze finding him more than once, pondering a much calmer future, one less wreathed in flame.

One where she would return home after whatever job she would choose for herself. Glassblowing, mayhaps?

He would await her with his calming blue eyes and his goofy, charming, stupid, adorable smile. Food would be ready. After that, he would cater to her needs, asking her about her day. Calming her nerves. Soothing her worn body. Giving her the solace, the home she felt herself craving in her younger years.

Either that or push her against the wall in the hallway of their house and eat her out like an ice-cream sandwich, before thoroughly and lovingly ravishing her.

Was that a sudden and somewhat jarring shift in thought? Well, yes.

Would the past Cinder be disgusted with herself? Most definitely.

Did she find herself furiously masturbating to the latter thought at 2 am in the bathroom nonetheless? You betcha.

'_I suppose I do want my future to be with him at my side,_' Cinder pondered. The rational, yet power-hungry side of her thought it to be a smart move to have a strategist better than her to be with her rather than against her.

However, another part of her long thought dead and buried in a shallow grave, simply wanted him to make her feel like a fairy tale princess; to whisk her away to happiness.

It was very much unlike her to humor such thoughts. And yet, when the message yesterday had found her, she felt a fury unlike any other.

She wanted nothing more than to hurt this insolent wretch that had debased herself in playing such revolting games, to teach her a lesson on how to truly hurt someone who should be _literally anybody bloody else _rather than harming her new favorite knight.

Oh and how she taught her. How she seared a portion of her flesh, how she relished in torturing the wretch, to inflict the same wound to her body, over and over again thanks to her aura healing it.

Except that she didn't relish it. She couldn't.

What Nikos said right before they began their brutal work on "_How to teach a bitch about the finer arts of not toying with someones feelings"_(trademark pending) bothered her.

It had also visibly bothered the others, which in turn bothered Cinder even more.

And then she learned about the armistice.

The armistice was an actual honest-to-Oum written contract that forbade the girls – and some guys – of Beacon to pursue the charming dolt openly, rather trying for subtlety as to avoid an open conflict.

'Armistice', it seemed, was a fancy word for 'agreement on not to shank each other over a guy, as that would intimidate him'. Truthfully it was quite clever.

It was also annoying.

Jaune Arc, for all his incredible insight on others, was as dense as lead when it came to noticing the feelings of others for him. It was reason enough for concern amongst those that had signed the contract.

And signing it was mandatory, as Nora Valkyrie unmistakably clarified.

What was intriguing, however, was how exactly her two cohorts had befriended the knight as well. Their reasons were...odd.

It seemed that Mercury saw a much needed and wanted father figure in the lovable goof. This was not at all hindered by a particular story making the rounds at Beacon.

About two weeks back, Nebula Violette came down with a cold. Jaune, taking notice, _immediately _switched gears and had her confided in her room, where he cooked her healthy yet delicious meals.

It got to the point where Dew, Octavia and Gwen ended up jealous and faked an illness. Arc, taking this absolutely serious, started caring for them as well. An apparent highlight of this episode was when he told them a bedtime story. After they all fell asleep he, out of habit according to him, gave them goodnight kisses on their foreheads.

Suffice to say that NDGO was wide awake after that.

It took exactly _one_ conversation for Mercury Black, a hardened assassin, to confide to the blonde about how he did not really have a father. Black willfully omitted the abusive parts of that backstory, perhaps as to not scare him away. Some prodding, however, brought the whole thing to surface.

Both Emerald and Cinder had witnessed that very moment. The knight's reaction was unexpected and definitely memorable.

He broke a table in a fit of pure rage and called upon Monty Oum himself to attach the soul and consciousness of Marcus Black to 'a rock in the middle of bumfuck nowhere', before setting the table's remains _on fire_, just because he could.

When asked why exactly a rock in the middle of nowhere, Jaune had replied that it meant that he would be unable to move, to see, to hear, to interact at all with his surroundings. He would wish death upon himself as time went and, unable to die, would after a felt eternity, stop thinking altogether.

Mercury was oddly touched by that. Cinder and Emerald opted to return to their dorms, as they found themselves in need of a change in underwear.

And Emerald? She had, apparently, seen _something_. She completely refused to confide anyone in what it was, but it was the source of her physical interest.

His welcoming, warm personality became the source of her adoration. It was _that _simple. Cinder could not blame the orphan and former street urchin for that.

What constitutes attraction?

Cinder Fall found herself asking that question as the blonde knight strutted into one of the recreational rooms that had a kitchen built into it.

She opted to follow.

"Why hello there, Jaune," Cinder purred, pouring her charm into her voice. "What brings you here on a Sunday?"

"Oh hey Cinder," the knight greeted back. "I'm about to make banana bread for Sun here."

The monkey faunus in question looked like he was about to go full on Shana Gray on his trademark favorite food. "Banana bread" he whispered over and over again in a tone of voice that sounded oddly like religious reverence.

Cinder opted to ignore the idiot. "My, that sounds like an unusual pastime. Do you perhaps need help?"

Jaune's eyes lit up and Cinder's smirk subtly changed to a warm smile at the sight. "Sure thing! Sun will help me peel the bananas and will be slicing them. You can help me with the mix."

Oh crap.

Cinder had never cooked before, usually relegating this task to someone else.

"I...may have never cooked before," she confessed, showing her weakness freely to the guy who unquestioningly and unfailingly helped all those in need.

The only guy she would show her weak side to.

Sun's presence did not count, as he was neck deep in the pantry looking for the ingredients.

Jaune nodded in understanding. "I see. Let us start off with something simple. I am going to need some hot water for pre-preparing the bananas. You see, I am going to quickly dip them into the boiling water to give them a slightly softer texture. That way, they are going to be extra munchable."

An excited squeal could be heard from the pantry.

"Easy enough."

/-/

Jaune looked at the pot in a mix of bewilderment, amazement and mild horror.

"We didn't even put oil in there," he whispered, amazed at the spectacle before him. The water, for some indiscernible reason, had _caught fire_ when Cinder made it boil.

Jaune quickly put a lid on the pot, snuffing the fire out. "Well nobody is perfect. Your talents just lie elsewhere. Frankly, you are the same like I am with everything made in a pan save for pancakes. Anything else gets burnt."

It was a clumsy attempt at cheering her up. Clumsy, but honest and heartfelt.

She gave him a smile. "I suppose I should be watching you work. I am sure it will be entertaining."

And entertaining it was. Between his attempts from stopping Sun from snacking on the bananas and preparing the mix with strong, precise movements, she found herself enraptured by the knight. Before she could see the results of his hard work, however, she received a call from Emerald.

Not the best time.

"What is it? I am busy." Busy imagining someone naked in an apron, she left unsaid.

Emerald was beside herself in excitement. "Cinder! Ma'am! The armistice!"

And just like that, the thief had her attention. "Well? What about it?"

"The last segment of it! 'If Jaune Arc is to be in a committed relationship, only to separate from whomever, the contract is considered null and void to all participants',"she dutifully quoted.

Well now.

"And what do you expect from relaying this situation to me, Emerald?" Cinder inquired in a hushed voice as she removed herself from the room with an urgent excuse to her favorite blonde.

"I thought of...teaming up perhaps?"

Oh Emerald. So naive. Attempting to muscle in on what was soon to be hers and, perhaps, indulge in a lesbian fantasy.

The idea was juvenile. It was transparently self-serving. It was…

Utterly genius.

If the two gorgeous huntresses teamed up to win the knights affection, their chances would significantly increase. Besides, it would be the perfect opportunity to find out just _what_ Emerald had seen in, or perhaps at, the young man.

"Very well, Emerald. He is near me right now, so allow me to take the first..."

She stopped herself as she looked back into the room. Somehow, someway, Arslan Altan of Team ABRN had sneaked into the room to subtly win his affection.

Silly girl, the game was practically over now.

"Change of plans, Emerald. Let us return to our room. We need to utilize our advantage before moving in..."


	3. Chapter 3: Let the War Begin

**I am blown away at the reception of this story.**

**So here, have a new chapter, after which we will get to the meat of the story.**

**Yes, the chaos you have all been waiting for.**

**Soon.**

**Edit: From this chapter on, there will be Omakes to expand on the story and deliver extra content that I came up with for shiggles.**

**Enjoy!**

For Want Of A Knight

Chapter 3: Let The War Begin (now for real)

It was Monday morning at Beacon Academy.

Very few people liked Mondays in the first place. Beacon's student schedule did not make liking the beginning of the week any easier. Monday mornings started off with, of all the things in existence, Grimm Studies.

It would have been an interesting subject, were it not for the professor in charge of teaching the students about mankind's foremost enemy.

Peter Port was seen by the student body as a blabbermouth at best and a self-aggrandizing fatass at worst. Going on and on about tales of his youth, severely embellished because…

Well, either he was bored with the subject, or he just _really_ loved to hear himself talk.

Yang Xiao Long was bored out of her skull. She would usually spend the lecture asleep before borrowing the notes of resident tryhard Weiss.

The heiress was vehemently against being called that. She called it 'being studious'.

Which was just a term for 'academic tryhard', really.

However, ever since a few weeks ago, she found her gaze straying to a mop of blonde hair belonging to the leader of Team JNPR.

That was a fun night. The brawler had dared the swordsman to go out and party with her. You know, live the life and all that.

The truth, however, was an entirely different matter. Yang found herself not really knowing anything about the blonde goof. She had always thought of him as Ruby's equally socially awkward friend and the overly stubborn suitor of Weiss-cream.

Up until the dance, that was. Seeing the knight in a dress was quite memorable for everyone involved. To add to the general bafflement about him in a dress, he proved to be a talented dancer.

And dem legs were fantastic.

Yang had, however, also observed how Ruby started stealing glances at her fellow team leader and very first friend at Beacon.

Thus, Yang opted to get to know him better.

It went quite well, all things considered. He proved to be courteous and almost gentlemanly in his behavior towards his company for the evening, if clumsy at times. Until Yang told him to cut it out, as they were not on a date.

She made it clear that she appreciated the gesture anyway. The fact that he only looked her in the eyes when talking to her was a bonus. Not many guys seemed to do that, even if her chest had their own gravitational pull at this point.

And then someone wanted to spike her drink.

Never before had she seen the dork get genuinely angry at anyone. She remembered his expression all too well.

Aura flaring, his eyes fixated on the bastard that tried to 'get lucky', his mouth forming a snarl, hand gripping his wrist so hard one could hear it creak in agony.

Not to mention the culprit shat himself in fear.

Like she said, a fun night.

After that episode, Yang questioned why Weiss did not even bother to get to know Jaune.

'_Oh well. Her loss, Ruby's gain, I suppose,'_ she thought. The incident with Roofie Guy had cemented a whole new view on the blonde knight.

Namely that she still did not really know shit about him, but knew him well enough that he would treat whomever he got together with like a princess.

And then the school found out about his transcripts.

Turns out, some rabid fan of Pyrrha wanted her to 'stay pure' and get dirt on her partner. One bit of stolen transcripts later they informed the entire Academy as to how Jaune Arc was a faker.

Except that half the people did not really give a shit. The Vacuo faction found the transcripts to just be a piece of paper. If the goof could stay alive, he could be a huntsman.

The students of Mistral shared a similar viewpoint. The academies were there to learn how to be Hunters. The transcripts were there for the protection of the students rather than gatekeeping. And if Jaune survived this far, he should continue learning.

Atlas and Vale got into a huge discussion about the topic. Some people, predominantly from Atlas, discussed the harm it would do if just anyone would be admitted into the academies. Those who argued in favor of ratting Vomit Boy out to the authorities were decried as stuffy elitists.

Yang found herself agreeing with that sentiment. Elitism was misplaced in the world of hunters, as her father had taught her.

Besides, shunning Jaune for his transcripts would make her a hypocrite. She did trash a nightclub and accepted Blake despite her criminal past, after all.

It was the latter argument that ultimately got a torn Weiss to back down. On one hand, Ice Queen argued that the academies were places for the best of the best.

On the other hand, Weiss-cream had to acknowledge that Jaune did earn his place at Beacon.

It was, to everyone's surprise, none other than Cardin Winchester that got them all to shut their mouths. He stated that Jaune could already go toe to toe with an Ursa Major, despite having no prior combat training a few months back. If he could progress that far in such a short amount of time…

Well, why not give him the chance?

When there were still some students, predominantly from Atlas, objecting against just letting it go and wanting to contact General Ironwood, the Honorguard was formed on the spot, vowing to keep watch over them as to not let them leak it to the outside world.

Team CRDL openly admitted that they had embellished their own transcripts at some points, pointing out just how easy it was and how these papers would not account for character, or lack thereof. Vacuo agreed to 'contain' the Atlesians, who called them prideless goons.

Idiots, the lot of them. Pride mattered little in the face of monsters that wanted to kill them all. Yatsuhashi was imposing enough in stature and words to silence remaining discussions for good.

And as for the teachers?

When asked, Port just stated that he knew all along. Oobleck spitballed into an explanation for his lacking prior education, even if he had gotten better over time. That this had been at the behest of Velvet was left unsaid.

And the headmaster? The headmistress?

Ozpin had smiled his enigmatic smile, saying how no fake transcripts could evade his eye. He had, however, seen potential in the young man. Potential yet untapped, one that could be unlocked with the education the academy provided.

Any conflict left in the students' hearts had died with those words. Ozpin was a huntsman himself, and one with quite the reputation.

Who were they to judge him if one such as Ozpin had known from the start and accepted him regardless?

Miss Goodwitch stood behind the headmaster's decision, not divulging her own thoughts.

The discussion that had gone from the cafeteria to the teacher's lounge and back turned into a weird-ass betting pool. Bets were placed as to how far the goof could progress in how much time. Yang placed a bet on herself; that she could teach him hand-to-hand and all basic grappling techniques in a week's time. She had fifty Lien riding on this, and she would be damned if that meathead Brawnz got his hands on _her_ money.

Jaune was quite surprised about Yang's invitation to some one-on-one training. He agreed nevertheless, falling for the argument that having various training partners would help him prepare for other fighting styles.

Then again, it was a legit argument. And a good one too.

Come to think of it, this could not exactly count as 'falling for a trick'.

Anyway, the training progressed quite well. At the end of the first day, she had worked up a sweat, while Jaune was panting on the ground. One could not blame him; he had been on the receiving end of some grapples.

Shame he could not appreciate her boobs on his back, being focused on getting out of the grab at the time. He was still clumsy, though in the adorable way. The way e struggled was really cute, with all the little whimpers when she tightened the grip.

And then she just had to make a pun about this.

"Well aren't you shaping up to be a _Jaune-some_ fighter?"

There was a bit of gentle ribbing and encouragement in that phrase. You know, her treating him in a buddy-buddy way. Perhaps cementing the beginning of a great friendship. That way, she could openly vouch for him in front of her dad if Jaune intended to marry Ruby someday.

And then Jaune laughed.

"That was so corny," he giggled.

Yang's brain stopped working for a bit.

_'Okay, he laughed at your pun. That's neat. Let's approach this new situation calmly and not freak out.'_

She found herself being dragged off a dazed Jaune by a red-faced Pyrrha and Nora hopped up on some lightning dust from her 'emergency stash'.

Apparently she had rammed her tongue down his throat and attempted to defile him.

He laughed at her pun.

He. _Laughed_. At her pun.

This was bad.

Jaune turned out to be prime husband material. Grounded, kind, great sense of humor (evidently) and enough common sense to _not _ogle her impressive bust when talking to her.

This was_ really_ bad.

Qrow had once told her about the situation in Team STRQ. How Raven _and_ Summer fell for her dad, but Raven got to him first, because Summer was too shy.

Yang did _not _want a repeat of that. She could not do that to her sister. Ruby had started to crush on him some time after the first month. Treating her like an equal would help, if just a bit less than shared interests in comic books and just as much social awkwardness.

Yang had never had a crush up until that point in time. Jaune, even if he was weak, had the talent of being a hard worker, meaning that he would only get stronger the more he was pushed. This pleased her, as the blonde now was a far cry from the awkward teen she had first seen during orientation. Yeah, he was still an awkward noodle, but he was a cute awkward noodle.

The kind of awkward that could get stuck in his own clothes if he tried it with the wrong arm first. That was a fun sight, seeing him run around like a headless chicken.

All he wanted was to show off a bit, making her see that he was not scraggly.

He still was. Kinda. More definition though.

His thankful smile after freeing him from the fabric hell had warmed her heart

That evening, she was lying on her bed, agonizing about her feelings, when Ruby came in.

"Hey, Yang. I heard about what happened."

Fuck. Big Sis was in deep shit. She had basically attempted to steal her little sister's first crush from her.

"Ruby." Yang sat up, looking directly at the little Rose's face, noting a nervous expression. "It was a spur of the moment. I know how you feel about him and I-"

"Do you like him?"

Yang stilled. "Maybe? Yes?" She shook her head, blonde mane bobbing from side to side. "Doesn't matter. I won't pull a Raven on you and-"

"Do you want to share?"

WHAT

Did...did Ruby seriously just say that?

"I mean...I don't want what happened on dad's team to happen to us. One of us finding happiness and the other just waiting for … whatever to happen." Ruby's gaze turned to steel. "I don't want that at all. So let us team up for this." She then returned back to being nervous and cute. "I mean...if you want to… cause if you don't then I wont lose to you!" She yelled out that last part.

When did her sister grow up so much?

Yang's face was split by a massive grin. This was cutting the knot, so to speak.

"Two cute and beautiful huntresses teaming up to get their man? Lover Boy doesn't stand a snowball's chance in Vacuo!"

Ruby cheered at that and practically flew into her sister's arms for a big hug. Yang knew just how much this meant for Ruby.

It meant the world for her too. Finding someone like Jaune was the chance of a lifetime.

Shame that their initial plans went to shit before they were even hatched. Pyrrha knocked on their door and practically forced them to sign a piece of paper that told them to be subversive in their attempts to woo the knight.

The blond brawler thought it to be some weird practical joke at first.

Until she saw the names on the thing.

Half the female populace at school, every name one she at least heard before, had signed. Even some of the guys had, namely Scarlet, Neptune and…

She did a double take there.

Neptune?

"Yup. Who knew, right?" the red spartan answered the unasked question.

Her jaw further threatened to approach the ground at terminal velocity when she saw _Ren_ to have signed as well.

"Solidarity!" proclaimed the queen of the castle. "We will help Pyrrha attain happiness _and also get a piece for ourselves_."

"About that," Yang had felt at the time to inquire. "How do you feel about Vomit Boy's transcripts?"

Nora gave her the most deadpan stare she could muster. "Seriously?" she had asked. "It was obvious from back in initiation; from the first day in combat class. How you people didn't come to the same conclusion right away is weird."

"Perhaps this is why Miss Goodwitch didn't say anything," P-Money had suggested. "She was probably really embarrassed that she didn't come up with that sooner."

Now the blonde bombshell was confused. "Well, if you knew right away, why not tell on him? Oum knows if I had found out during the first month, I would have been angry."

"Because he's a friend," Nora had answered, with utmost sincerity and not a hint of her usual hyper-ness. "And because he is the best at strategizing out of all of us."

Then she had been leaning forward with a conspiratory grin. "Don't play him in Remnant: The Game. Your ego won't survive."

Yang did not question it any further and signed, with some reluctance, the so-called armistice.

_Then_ she noticed the names 'Weiss' and 'Blake'.

Hold up.

"Lucky us. Weiss realized too late that Jaune was honest and genuine with his feelings. Now she has to 'get in line', so to speak." Pyrrha had a smile on her face that silently seemed to sing "Bitch I told'cha ass" by Carlyn C.

And Blake?

"I'unno," Nora mumbled.

Alright then.

Come today, a slow-ass Monday with half the classroom either asleep or doing whatever else. Yang was silently overjoyed that Jaune seemed to be alright again.

After what happened at Saturday, Lover Boy seemed to have shut down for a bit, not responding to anything and lying on his bed instead.

How he bounced back from that all by himself was a miracle by itself.

Look at him, all put together again. It warmed Yang's heart.

The bell chimed.

Quickly, The buxom blonde made her way to the scraggly blonde. "Heya, Lover Boy! What's crackin'?"

Jaune turned to her, ocean blue eyes looking directly at her. "I'm holding up," he stated, warm smile on his lips.

As they made their way down the hallway, Pyrrha looked at Yang with a frown on her face, whilst Ruby stood right behind her, holing up two thumbs.

Gotta love Rubes.

"I made some banana bread for Sun yesterday." He laughed in remembrance as Yang listened to his retelling, happy for his fast recovery and chuckling about his rather poor segue. "He sounded like he was making love to it the whole time."

Yang laughed at that. "Seriously? Did he never have banana bread?"

"Not at all. Arslan came in halfway and wanted some too. Sun almost bit her hand off!"

Yang scowled inwardly at the mention of that name.

Arslan Altan.

The ash blonde Mistrali huntress was quite the looker with her tan skin, exotic looks and sharp, unwittingly alluring, gaze.

Only a few days ago, she walked out of the training room with Jaune, openly and _loudly_ discussing his vast aura pool that helped him to outlast her in sparring.

The fact that he could double as a power plant notwithstanding, Yang had to fight the urge to strangle Arslan. If the old tale about Huntsmen and their aura was right, the Jaune wore baggy Jeans and two belts for good reason.

A good and hopefully thick, _meaty _reason.

'_Down, girl._'

"She moaned the entire time."

Yang stilled. "I'm sorry, what?"

Jaune looked at her, as if searching for something. "You want muffins, too?"

"Muffins?"

"Blueberry muffins. I made some for Arslan yesterday, as an apology for Sun's behavior. She really liked them. You want some, too?"

Oh. Muffins. _Suuure._

"Well okay, why not. But only _yours,_ lady killer," Yang teased. Jaune laughed at that and scratched the back of his head. Yang then remembered something.

"Say, lover boy, you remember anything from Monday last week?" She silently hoped he did.

"I remember passing out for some reason. I woke up in my dorm." Jaune suddenly looked shocked. "Did you carry me back there?"

Yang decided to tease him a bit. "Maybe?"

Jaune whined. It was _adorable_, seeing him lament his apparent loss of dignity.

'_You are gonna be using that mouth for more than whining once I get my hands on you._'

The chime of a scroll tore Yang out of her musings about having Jaune eat _her_ muffin. She dispelled them fast, realizing she was moving ab it too quick there.

"Could you go on ahead? I gotta read this." Yang knew the exact sound of the chime. It was a special alert to the people who had signed the armistice from a specialized and secret forum where they talked about various things or openly exchanged pictures of them with the knight for bragging rights. Or the newest gossip. Like how he managed to burn eggs while being able to essentially magicking a stew into existence with some broth, ground meat and potatoes.

Whoever distributed Ladykiller's skills at birth must have dumped most of them into startegy and domestic chores. Anything else took a lot of hard work.

Not that he ever complained.

As Jaune acknowledged her private business and went on ahead, the blonde beauty fished the scroll out of her pocket and looked at the recent message. She swore she would tear Arslan a new one if she uploaded a picture of her devouring his blueberry muffins with gusto.

It was not Arslan.

It was something better.

_So. Much. Better._

/-/

Meanwhile, in a chatroom titled "Honorguard"...

MaceMan: So, how are you guys holding up so far?

ReleaseTheDoves: Coming up Millhouse. Gonna feast on chocolate tonight, boys!

MaceMan: Good man. Atlesians being tetchy. Fox is having his eyes on them.

UgonnaGetMercd: Isn't he blind?

MaceMan: Doesn't matter to him. He just, i dunno, wall hacks through things. Like that one superhero whatshisface.

SkyHigh: How is Jaune holding up?

SkyHigh: Anyone seen him 2day?

CantRushTheThrush: he was in class today you tit

MaceMan: Reading?

CantRushTheThrush: reading. cant stand listening to port either

CantRushTheThrush: looks okay, though

UgonnaGetMercd: Sup, nerds?

MonkeyBusiness: Ayyyyyyy

CantRushTheThrush: heard you orgasmed on bread

MonkeyBusiness: Banana bread

MonkeyBusiness: I want to have its children

MonkeyBusiness: Awesome shit right there

MaceMan: Never ever say these words again

RenIsZen: We have a situation, gentlemen

UgonnaGetMercd: What is it? Yang again? Girls nearly rioted when they heard.

SkyHigh: Heard wot

UgonnaGetMercd: Xiao Long almost molested Jauney Boy

ReleaseTheDoves: What?

RenIsZen: It was, technically, not molesting. She was aggressively making out with him.

SkyHigh: dafuq

RenIsZen: Beside the point. The seventh paragraph of the Armistice has gone into effect.

ReleaseTheDoves: The what?

MaceMan: What was it again?

RenIsZen: Due to Jaune acquiring a girlfriend, even if it was without notifying any of us, and his subsequent breakup, the Armistice contract ist now considered null and void.

CantRushTheThrush: FUCK

UgonnaGetMercd: How many know?

RenIsZen: I frequent the "Arc Legion" forum, so I can say with utmost certainty that the situation is normal and everything on fire.

ReleaseTheDoves: What the piss is normal about that?

RenIsZen: Apologies. I am quite numbed to the general chaos thanks to growing up with Nora.

MaceMan: We need to bring him to our dorm; keep him safe from this war.

UgonnaGetMercd: Better move quick. Cinder and Em know already. They got ropes.

MonkeyBusiness: How about my dorm room?

ReleaseTheDoves: Hard no. Neptune and Scarlet want him, no?

MonkeyBusiness: Is that homophobia I detect?

ReleaseTheDoves: No.

RenIsZen: It is not sure whether or not my leader can be attracted to both sexes. Thanks to him courting Weiss and his brief, if fake, relationship, we know for a fact that he likes women.

MaceMan: If it's the Schnee, not necessarily.

UgonnaGetMercd: HEYOOOOOO

ReleaseTheDoves: He should be in Botanics with Professor Peach now. Sky, could you please?

SkyHigh: omw

CantRushTheThrush: lets hope the girls and boys wont wreck each other

MaceMan: You're kidding? I already got the popcorn ready for this!

**OMAKE!**

It was the day after the dance and Weiss was striding through the school with a troubled expression.

She had found it prudent to speak to someone she had, up until the events of yesterday, regarded as nothing more than a pest, a nuisance just like any other would-be suitor back in Atlas. It was almost insulting that the heiress of the SDC had to put up with seemingly half-baked attempts of wooing her, only to make off with name and fortune.

Just like her father had done to her mother, leaving her a wreck starved for love and drowning her sorrows in vast amounts of alcohol.

When the dance had came and he had assured that Neptune did at least make the effort to dance with her, Weiss had decided to make the effort to give Jaune Arc her apologies for her abrasive behavior. The clumsy dunce, from the start, only had her best interests at heart, and it showed when he stepped aside for Neptune, a man too proud to first admit he couldn't dance!

The heiress made to be better than her father and wanted to make amends. Hence the meeting next day where the two talked a lot, including his prior attempts, something he admitted was embarassing to talk about now. Though that talk in and of itself was not the reason for her troubles.

No, what did trouble her was the expression on his face when she admitted to thinking he was only after her for money and name. His face was full of disbelief and hurt, the goofy smile he usually sported nowhere to be seen. It was an alien sight.

And it hurt her.

She apologized for the baseless assumption which he tried to wave off as no big deal, as she made it based on past experiences and that he didn't really get the hint. That part she found unacceptable. Here she was trying to take full blame for everything and he was brushing it off as no big deal, even when she likened him to the same leeches she had to fend off in the past?

Was he foolish or noble for doing so?

Perhaps it was the way he was raised?

These thoughts had raised a row of questions. As in, who was his family? What was the full history of the Arcs?

And how come he seemed a little more earnest than her current boyfriend, his smile a little more truthful and almost radiant?

Why were his eyes so blue?!

And why on Oum's green Remnant was he so freakishly tall?! Especially compared to her!

Beside the point. What mattered now was finding out about his family. Who they exactly were and such. She had contacted someone from her father's company to put in research into Arc's bloodline.

The line of the Arcs was littered with renowned heroes and big names. One of them, the 'Great Breaker' as she recalled, had been responsible for one of Mantle's more crushing defeats.

It was one thing to hear Ruby mention Jaune's seven sisters in passing when the heiress had regarded him like a horse did a gnat. It was another again when she had heard from him personally about his vast amount of female siblings when he had been elevated in her standing opinion.

Yet it was still shocking to see it confirmed. Seven sisters! And two of them twins! What kind of woman was his mother?!

The answer had left Weiss Schnee with a dry mouth.

Arturia Pendragon. Great-granddaughter of the last king of Vale, who had abdicated his throne after the end of the Great War, leaving the council behind that ruled Vale now. Jaune Arc, and all of his sisters, had royal blood flowing through their veins.

If Jacques Schnee ever found out about this, he would try everything to arrange their matrimony in order to further increase the worth of the Schnee name.

Somehow, the prospect of marrying the blonde dunce didn't seem all that unappealing anymore.


	4. Chapter 4: Evasive Maneuvers!

**Hello!**

**Sorry for the slight delay, but I got a drilling headache thanks to a mrriage procession outside my house**

**So much honking.**

**I also started pondering if I should be jumping on the band wagon and write a react fic myself.**

**Now, before you either try to dissuade me for this or lambast me for being unoriginal, please read my reason for this.**

**1\. Most react fics are either stillborn (only 1 chapter that updated ages ago), were abandoned somewhere along the way or are featuring obvious Mary Sues, which are fun to write but usually not fun to read about.**

**2\. I kinda want to and have so many ideas for this! Like reacting to 'Arc of the revolution' (even if it is dead, unfortunately) or a certain smut series by Azure Gigacyber from AO3 (tastefully censored to cater to FFnet's policies.**

**Let me know what you think of this and react fics in general.**

**Oh, and my work here, of course! With each follow, favorite and review I grow stronger.**

**Enjoy!**

For Want Of A Knight

Chapter 4: Evasive Maneuvers!

Jaune Arc was walking through the school, mulling over a recent meeting.

Sky Lark had intercepted the knight on his way to Professor Peach's class to inform him of an imminent threat to his health. Apparently the class today was scheduled to experiment on the Red Tree Sap from Forever Fall, something the knight was rather allergic to. Sky had offered, in all his helpfulness, to hang out in the CRDL dorm room instead, since the Halberdier was the only one of his team to attend the non-mandatory class.

Jaune declined politely, instead declaring that he had something to do in Vale. The fact that he wanted to visit his friend Roman for help in fashion was left unsaid. The knight could also go to Coco for advice there, as she had offered him to a while ago.

The problem here was that something seemed … off about Beacon today.

Jaune felt the urgent need to leave to Vale. Call it a gut feeling, but he felt that something big would be going down today, and he didn't want to be caught in the blast radius.

Sure, he could be getting his teammates with him. However, he, on a whim, decided on some 'me-time'.

The blonde dork was quite happy with his life right now. Lots of friends, a caring partner and a great team at his side. The him from three years ago would have never dared to imagine this. Heck, the him from the beginning of his life at Beacon did not imagine that he would amass a veritable army of friends.

Jaune felt like losing himself in thought as he strutted through Beacon. Thus, the secretly admired did not notice Ruby threatening Weiss with her beloved weapon.

"Do you smell this, Weiss?" The young Rose took a theatrical sniff of the air. "That is the smell of your defeat!" She took some more sniffs, noticing a smell. "Is that a new perfume? Aw, Weiss! You thought that would be enough to win him over?"

"Excuse me?!" Weiss was indignant. "This is just complementary! Just one of many weapons in my arsenal!" She readied the Dust in her rapier.

The blonde knight walked by an unused classroom. Well at least one not used for lessons anyway.

"He is MY partner," declared Pyrrha in front of the entire Team NDGO. "I have every right to be with him!"

"But obviously not the ovaries," taunted Octavia Ember, pointing her Kris at the champion. "Or else you would be with him already, no?"

"Well lucky us for your cowardice," Dew Gayl added. "We'll be with him for good before the day is over."

Pyrrha squinted at Dew. "Excuse me. Did you just say 'we'?"

"Damn right," Nebula confirmed, all to gleefully. "After all, we girls have to stick together. Besides, that way our chances are higher than anyone's!"

Oh really? Well, well, well…

"Bring it."

The spartan charged.

On his way to the Bullhead docks, Pyrrha's beloved partner briefly saw Arslan running somewhere. Whereever she wanted to be, it had to be urgent. Jaune would rather not stop her.

Unbeknownst to him, Arslan was actually looking for her fellow blonde. Tunnel vision, however, was more hindering than helpful most of the time.

It was how she barreled full tilt into Yang.

"Ow! HEY!"

"YOU! Don't stop me, I've got somewhere to be!"

"Over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged."

The buxom brawler and the Mistrali beauty got into fighting stances. Then Yang stiffened.

"You know, we should take this outside. Don't wanna piss off Goodwitch like Saturday."

Arslan could not help but concur. She would rather not incur the deputy's wrath.

/-/

Reese Chloris was currently trying to phase through a locked door. After some angry pushing against the wood, she ultimately conceded and opted to do the second best thing.

Eavesdropping.

"I believe you owe me an explanation, Emerald."

"I am afraid I don't know what you are talking about."

The hoverboarder heard a scoff. "Please. You know very well what I want."

A pause.

"What did you see that made you so interested in Arc?"

Reese concentrated on her hearing. Uncertain sounds were heard. Emerald seemed to be stalling.

Then she talked.

"I … was training and wanted to take a shower. I took the wrong door."

Reese tried phasing through the door again to listen in better while being as inconspicuous as possible.

"He has quite a nice butt."

Really? Shame he hides it in his baggy jeans.

Wait.

"Anything else?"

'_Yes! I want to know, too!_'

"Well..."

Then silence. Now Reese _really_ wished for a phasing semblance so she could see Emerald gesticulating.

No success. Again.

"Well now."

What?

"That explains his need for those atrocious jeans."

Did she just insinuate that…

…

SCORE!

Reese ran off, her search for the knight redoubled. He was _supposed_ to have Botanics, but never showed up to class for some reason. This lead to an all-out brawl between Nora, who ran out of patience, and Blake, who stormed into the room despite not having this class in her schedule in the first place.

Meanwhile, the conversation took to a new topic. One that would, much to Cinder's convenience, be quite damning to the now absent eavesdropper.

"By the by, what is happening with the Amity Colosseum?"

"According to our contacts, the maintenance is taking longer than anticipated."

/-/

In Atlas, a few technicians were doing anything but fixing the electronics of the floating stadium.

"Say, Archie," one of the newer workers piped up. "Why aren't we doing our jobs right now?"

The head technician turned to him, expression shocked. His eyes widened, as if he had just witnessed an atrocity, as if his entire family was endangered. His whole expression forming one of horror, one that had peered into the abyss itself and saw it _blink_.

And he spoke, his voice a whisper, perchance to avoid the attention of whatever otherworldly entity he seemed to be fearing.

"'Cause we can't be arsed, that's why," he answered.

/-/

The boys of Team BRNZ looked upon their honorary sister and sole female teammate in increasing worry. May Zedong was checking her weapon, loading it with what looked like tranquilizer darts. A rope laid ready nearby alongside a knife, some wire and what seemed to be a counterweight.

"Erm, May?" Roy finally spoke up. "What are you planning?"

The sniper turned around, sole visible eye sharp and judging, the mind behind it focused on a singular goal.

"I plan to hunt."

BRN looked at each other in worry.

"I will let you know if I was successful. If – when – I am, I suggest finding another room to sleep in." With that, May walked out of the door, appliances stuffed in a bag and weapon in her hands.

Brawnz swallowed hard. "Let's hope that Sky was successful, yeah?"

/-/

Vale was waiting.

Jaune walked up to the bullheads, still somewhat lost in his thoughts, pondering his luck now…

And his misfortune back then.

Jaune's expression fell, as he remembered darker days. During his time at a public school, he was always the odd one out. The negative example for everyone, for no discernible reason other than that they felt they could.

"This garbage smells like Jaune!"

"On a scale from Jaune to the Achieve Men, how would you rate that guy there?"

Those were the dumb ones.

"Hey, Jaune, you think that any girl would want some loser like you?"

"He should probably try and flirt with the Grimm; he would have better chances!"

"Yeah right, they would just eat him faster."

Those were the brutal ones.

"Hey Jaune, be a good guy and give me your shirt. You don't need it. Come on, help your betters, will you?"

"Arc, give me my money. What do you mean, your money? Didn't you hear 'what's yours is mine'? Yeah, well i don't give a shit! My family is more important than yours."

Those were among the ones uttered by the one who started it all. Jamieson Rott. A young man from a wealthy family who appeared to have been born with a silvered spoon in his mouth. The young man was raised in all the wrong ways, thinking that he owned the world and everyone in it.

Jaune tried not to hold it against him. How was it his fault if he was raised that way? It did not make it easier when the sycophants chimed in on the abuse and yet more caved to peer pressure. The teachers acted like they hadn't seen a thing whenever a stack of Lien was presented.

To Jamieson, Jaune was a plaything. A guy he could do with however he pleased. Weak-willed enough not to resist, awkward enough not to have any popular friends. To Jamieson, a young man who had never learned empathy, Jaune was the perfect victim.

The sole son of the Arcs endured the taunts without complaint. Always hiding his tears from his family.

Until that one day three years ago.

The most popular girl, Jamieson's girlfriend, at his school back then decided it would be fun to break his spirit. She whipped a pocket knife out of nowhere, declared that "no one would miss Jaune" and 'playfully' stabbed him.

It was not enough to break skin, but more than enough for him to flee right then and there, followed by the sneering laughter of the others, all the way back home, crying all the time.

His parents had decided that it was reason enough to pull him out of the school and sue the girl as a juvenile felon. How the case ended he did not know and, frankly, did not want to know. His tormentor-in-chief would have gotten away scot-free.

Those darker days would remain a secret from his new friends for an indefinite amount of time. He would rather not feel their looks of pity, making them feel like they had to spend time with the unfortunate Arc son.

Jaune did not want that.

His past treatment was, ironically, the reason why he had been so stubborn in trying to win over Weiss. If she wasn't as callous as the others with him, that means he had a chance, right? Sure, it was a slim one, but it was there!

That changed at the dance. Jaune realized how immature he had been, not taking her 'no' for an answer. He was lucky enough to patch things up with Weiss to the point that they could be called 'kinda-sorta friends'.

Good enough.

It had also been a bit of a harsh wake-up call for him. If the girls didn't want a guy like him to be their boyfriend, then a friend was enough. It was painful to admit to himself that he just wasn't boyfriend material to anyone. But if he could be the goofy friend to everyone…

That would be okay.

And hey, in regards to his mother's wishes for grandbabies, he could always adopt!

After all, what woman would want him in a romantic sense?

What happened last Saturday was answer enough.

What happened in middle school was answer enough. The voices were in his head again, taunting him with every step.

The knight snapped out of his self-depreciating musings as he noticed an all too familiar figure boarding the bullhead to Vale.

"Good day, Miss Goodwitch!" Jaune cordially greeted the feared combat instructor. "What leads you to Vale?"

The strict teacher regarded her student with a raised eyebrow. "Mister Arc, could you explain to me as to why you are not in class right now?"

"Ah, well." The young blonde scratched the back of his head. "I asked to be excused, because Professor Peach wanted us to experiment with Red Tree Sap."

Goodwitch raised her head in understanding. "I see." She lowered it again for a level gaze at him. "I have requested for a day off from my duties."

"Oh, cool. Well, you did earn a vacation and then some, Miss Goodwitch."

Glynda cocked her head. "Oh?"

Jaune scratched the back of his again. "Well, you always clean up our messes and destruction. I don't think that Beacon would be standing without you. Most of us don't show it, but we are thankful for that." He chuckled. "Well, at least I am."

The deputy headmistress allowed herself a small smile at that. "Why, thank you, Mister Arc. Say, would you like to accompany me to Vale? I could use the company. Shopping by myself seems rather dull."

The swordsman's eyes lightened up. "That's great! I actually wanted to go shopping for clothes. I have a friend who knows something about fashion, Well, male fashion actually."

Glynda looked at her student questioningly, who grimaced. "Sorry. I always draw a distinction there thanks to my sister."

Ah, one of the rumored seven sisters, then. How Mrs Arc had managed to birth eight kids without calling it quits halfway through had always been an enigma to anyone who knew.

"I do believe that I could offer valuable insight anyways. So what say you, Mister Arc?"

Jaune smiled at her, the sight managing to warm her heart.

"It would be my pleasure."

/-/

Glynda was slightly worried during the trip. Her student's motion sickness had acted up and he nearly defenestrated his breakfast from his stomach. Thankfully, the teacher knew of a technique to alleviate his illness.

A simple demonstration of Aura control later, and Jaune had almost cried from joy.

For the first time in forever, he was free of his curse!

To think that all it took was to focus the aura on his stomach and then letting it circulate through his body! The blonde knight nearly hugged his teacher from joy, even if she restrained him from doing so.

The professor squashed the feeling of reluctance to hold him back.

The student-teacher pair made their way through the streets of Vale. The sun was shining, only a few clouds were in sight and the streets were hustling and bustling with life and motion.

Their first stop, the obvious choice.

A clothing store.

Glynda was frowning in front of a rack for brassieres. The were either ugly or simply not her size.

Her student, meanwhile, had disappeared into one of the changing rooms already, having taken fashionable brown pants and a dark blue dress shirt with him.

The stern professor pondered over whether or not to choose a more conservative blouse in light blue or a very stylish white blouse which sported a large cleavage window, to her dismay.

She would rather not be ogled like a piece of meat, thank you very much!

"Erm, Miss Goodwitch?" the uncertain voice of her student tore Glynda out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Mister Arc?"

"Could you give me your opinion on this?"

She turned around to see her fellow blonde now fully clothed, his posture clearly showing his uncertainty.

"And what do you, yourself, think?"

Jaune hesitated. "It's a bit tight in … places."

Glynda took note of this and let her critical gaze wander over the clothing.

She noticed a bulge.

"Don't stare!" The Arc let out a rather unmanly squeak, hiding his clothed crotch with his hands.

Glynda blinked. Jaune turned a deep crimson red.

"It's … grotesque, isnt't it?"

"Pardon?"

"Nevermind!" And with that, he disappeared back in the fitting room.

/-/

Glynda Goodwitch, feared disciplinarian of Beacon, did her damnedest to chase away the thoughts of her student's … sizable bulge. Yet, the image always returned.

Taunting her, a single woman in her early forties.

Glynda, as stern and adult as she seemed, had a reputation of being no-nonsense, being feared and yet admired by her Hunter colleagues.

And she couldn't stop thinking about…

'_ENOUGH!_'

The deputy silently collected herself. Ultimately, the search for new apparel was a bust for both her and her companion for the late morning; the Arc being unable to buy anything after being embarrassed.

To add to the now somewhat fouled mood, her Scroll started ringing.

Ozpin's number.

Miss Goodwitch almost blew a gasket. It was her day off! He should not be pestering her with -

"Is that the headmaster calling you?"

Apparently, her exasperation had been visible on her face. "Yes," she admitted. "I wonder what he wants."

"What he wants is not important right now," insisted what proved to be the perhaps most compassionate of her students. "What matters is you right now. It is _your _day off, Miss Goodwitch. Make that clear to him. Beacon should be able to last a day without you."

Glynda blinked at that. Putting her wishes first, while selfish, could be allowed now and again, right? After all, if the student that was somewhat lacking behind everyone else, the one she had been harshest to, even if it was more out of worry for him…

If he wanted her to think about herself for once …

She could do it, right?

Glynda held her scroll up, her arm outstretched, display facing her.

She answered the call…

And unleashed all of her frustration and resentment.

"SOLVE YOUR OWN DAMN PROBLEMS, _YOU ASSHOLE!"_

The scroll, throw with might, shattered against the ground.

"Um," Jaune finally spoke up after a brief silence. "You didn't have to wreck your scroll for that."

He was right. She didn't.

Glynda started giggling.

"My," she gasped between giggles. "How unbecoming of me."

The dork knight, floored by his teacher's shift in behavior, now joined her surprisingly cute giggles.

"Well, that seemed like a long time coming, Miss Goodwitch."

The teacher laughed at that. "Oh you have no idea, Mister Arc. And please, during my time off, call me Glynda."

/-/

Ozpin stared at his scroll.

For the first time in a long while, the immortal wizard was at a loss for words.

Then again, she was right, he supposed. It was high time that he started to prove to her that Beacon would stand even without her.

That way, he would not need to give her a raise. The budget was already allocated mostly for the procurance of coffee.

Another explosion shook the tower.

"Say that you give up on him!"

"Never!"

The war for the knight's heart had a turbulent first day, it seemed. The headmaster could only hope that it would calm down somewhat come tomorrow.

For now though…

Ozpin grabbed his cane and rose from his seat.

"I suppose it is time for the headmaster to make his rounds."

/-/

Jaune and Glynda found that they had a great time together.

"And when he returned to his dorm, poor James had to see his teammate dressed in nothing but a jar of peanut butter!"

The Arc doubled over laughing. "Oh my Oum! Poor guy!"

"Quite," she giggled, her newly carefree attitude endearing to her student, who felt the beginning of an amazing friendship. "They couldn't look each other in the eye for weeks!"

The two had spent some time idly walking around Vale, making conversation. The two, much to each others surprise, fit together well.

Jaune had expressed envy at her semblance and lamented his lack of one of his own. To which she responded with the playful warning that he should be careful of his wishes, lest he spend hours daily fixing other people's messes.

Jaune laughed at that and could not help but agree. Besides, not every Hunter had one. It didn't stop them from being the best they could be.

It was when they talked about the fancy cartoons from Mistral – Glynda's guilty pleasure – when disaster struck.

The knight kicked a can down the street.

It rolled in front of a skater, who tripped over it.

They took someone carrying coffee with them to the ground, in the futile hope of having someone slow the descent.

The plastic cup sailed through the air, landing on someone's face.

Screaming and flailing, they tore down a tablecloth from a restaurant and flung it someplace.

Someplace being the face of _another _skater.

Who drove next to a fancy torch, which lit the cloth on fire.

The now burning skater careened, screaming, into a Dust store specialized on fire dust.

It exploded.

Glynda and Jaune beheld the massacre before them with concern on their faces. Both their hands held in front of their lips, the palms meeting each other.

"Let's pretend we didn't see a thing and go somewhere else, yeah?"

The strict teacher could not agree fast enough.

/-/

May Zedong was strutting to a particular corner of Beacon, humming the wedding march.

When she had been forced to sign the armistice, she had memorized every single line of the contract, particularly the last paragraph.

It was why, when 'The Punishment' came to pass, she started formulating a plan to nab herself a certain blonde.

And it had worked, it seems. Jaune Arc had Botanics class at this hour, which had ended exactly 10 minutes ago. On his way to meet with his team for history classes, he would round a certain corner, where no one else was traversing at that time.

Her planning worked out like a charm. A remote alarm had informed her that her elaborate snare, connected to a trip wire, had caught her prey.

A good thing, too. Time was of the essence, now that all of Beacon knew that the armistice was over.

May rounded the corner, expecting a bewildered blonde knight hanging upside down, looking all cute and ready to be claimed.

The huntress stilled at what she saw.

With an unnatural calm, Headmaster Ozpin dangled in the snare, cane and glasses lying on the ground.

"Miss Zedong, I presume?" the man greeted casually. "Could you help me down?"

**omake**

"Oh Reeeeennieeee..."

Lie Ren dreaded this tone of voice from his oldest friend. It always either meant uncomfortable questions or strange suggestions. Little did he know at the time that he was going to get a two-for-one special in that regard.

"What is it, Nora?" he inquired with his usual impassive voice masking his dread, mounting the longer he looked at that mischievous smirk of hers.

"I saw you peek at a shirtless Jauney~"

The usually stoic young man's eyes widened, before deadpanning at his friend and...yes, crush. "So did you."

This time the hammer wileder looked away bashfully. "Is that...a problem?"

A problem? The fact that they both enjoyed the exposed form of their leader more than friends should?

"If we are both...interested in him, it could be."

Now Nora's smirk came back with a vengeance. "It doesn't have to be!" she exclaimed, drawing a curious eyebrow. "Look, I..." she was bashful again. "Like-Like you. As in, I want us to be together-together."

That was a pleasant bit of information, the ninja found. "So do I," he declared, having finally found the courage to elevate their relationship, or at least try to. Ren was scared, scared of losing his oldest friendship or making it awkward. It was why he buried those emotions the best he could.

Not anymore. The feeling was liberating.

"Yay," Nora replied, oddly subdued in an elated whisper, as if she didn't quite grasp the gravitas of the situation. Her teal eyes met his pink, a sparkle going through them.

Her smile widened. "I don't want us to break apart. Any of us." He agreed with a nod. They were Team JNPR now, a family in their own right. One neither of them wanted to lose. "So I came up with a plan!"

"Basically," the bomber carried on. "I like you, you like me." She ended that sentence with a squeal. "Pyrrha likes Jaune. Pyrrha's kinda hot," the ginger conceded with a light blush. "And we both find Fearless Leader attractive. So! I will legally marry you," -Ren blushed furiously at that notion. Sure, they were a couple now, and they had it coming for a while now, but that part was too fast!- "And Pyr-Pyr will legally marry Jaune-Jaune! And we will all live in the same house and be just," she trailed off, trying to make some odd entangled form with her hands and fingers. "Just in a big fuck pile."

Right, now the hand gesture made sense in that it meant 'fuck pile'. Still, that notion had Ren blushing mad.

"I call it, 'Operation Juniper Berries'!" the Valkyrie finished.

"Nora." Ren finally found his voice. "As usual, your plan is strange and far too straightforward." Nora blinked, but started to smile as one found its place on Ren's face.

"But this time, I will follow it."

Nora Valkyrie hollered in response before lunging in for a big fat kiss.


	5. Chapter 5: A Drink A Day

**Hello!**

**So, the replies to my react fic idea were varied. Some suggested reacting to smut only (will be handled in a way to appease ffnet and keep second-hand-embarrassment to a minimum), other told me the detriments of the works in the genre so far (aka what to avoid doing).**

**As for the ideas for reactions, I will most certainly take them into consideration.**

**Also, I actually thought of "Dreaming of a happily ever after" by Azure over on AO3 in regards to smut, as it will be easiest to write something to that. If you are looking for smut, then AzureGigacyber is your guy.**

**I now have the idea to "adopt" the fic "Family visits" by SandMan12, simply because I like the premise and am a fan of "If The Emperor Had A Text-to-speech Device". It is a parody of warhammer 40k and also serves as an amazing intro to the franchise.**

**And in regards to reactions…**

**You betcha asses I will write some for Shadow gumball of death's "Father Jaune".**

**Definitely.**

**8D**

**Enjoy!**

For Want Of A Knight

Chapter 5: A drink a day...

The student-teacher pair briskly walked toward an alleyway near the main street, away from the sudden fire and the general mess. Glynda would not quite admit it, but she actually had fun shirking responsibility like that. Of course that was not admissible usually. But hey, it was her day off!

And her student herself said that she should have some fun.

The alley was somewhat narrow. No one really paid attention to it, being a dirty, narrow alleyway and all.

'_No one would notice.'_

The off-duty disciplinarian stiffened.

'_You could make hot, steamy love to him right here.'_

What lovemaking? This is a dirty alley!

'_Just fucking, then. When was the last time you had any, hm? Oh wait!'_

She nearly snarled at the treacherous voice in her head. Virgin or no, she was not that desperate.

'_But you are adventurous now, no? And what is more adventurous than seducing your handsome student?'_

Handsome? Well, now that the voice mentioned it…

No! Bad thoughts! Go away!

'_I can't. Because I _am_ you!'_

She opted to mentally bitch slap the voice into silence. The only thing that hinted at the mental debate was the twitching in her eye as she cut through the narrow space with her dorky blonde student.

Finally, fresh air and sunshine again.

"Whew!" the younger blonde hollered. "That was exciting. Almost thought we would get jumped."

The slightly older blonde smirked at that. Someone trying to hide in the middle of a narrow alley and trying to jump two huntsmen, one of which had a telekinesis semblance honed to perfection would be utterly stupid at best and suicidal at worst.

A nearby door chimed and Jaune turned his head to it. Glynda followed his gaze, curious as to why he immediately reacted to it.

Out of a door strutted a somewhat small young woman. While not statuesque by any means – she barely reached the knights chest – she seemed done growing. Her mismatched eyes and curiously colored hair drew the looks first.

Perhaps Glynda should go to a hairdresser for a new look. Oum knows how many stares her bust received first.

"Neo! Knew I would encounter you here!"

He knew that woman?

The newly named Neo turned to her student, a sudden smile spreading on her face. Glynda suppressed a scandalized gasp as the diminutive woman suddenly lunged forward and hopped into the young man's arms.

The clueless knight gasped out, surprised himself at the gesture. "Hey there! Down, girl! I missed you too!" He was laughing cheerfully, as he swung her around, returning the sudden embrace.

Neo couldn't help but pout as she was lowered back to the ground.

The deputy headmistress now saw the heterocromatic stranger performing odd gestures with her hands.

"I asked to be excused from class today."

Hm? Did he know sign language?

More signing, pointing to the taller blonde.

"That is my teacher, Glynda Goodwitch. Glynda, this is Neopolitan, or Neo for short."

The ice-cream themed girl sent her a short glare, before 'speaking' with the knight again.

"It's her off hours and she asked me to."

Ah. The informal address.

Neo sent her a smirk now that seemed more malicious than playful. Whatever it meant, Glynda couldn't tell.

"I must apologize, as I do not know sign language. Could you translate what she gestures for me, if she decides to accompany us?" Glynda was sharp enough to know that Jaune would insist on the mute to tag along. By the looks of it, they haven't seen each other in a good while, so it was a given.

Nevertheless, the knight blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Ah, sure."

Neo shot her a toothy, almost victorious grin. The disciplinarian squashed her annoyance at the sight.

"Sorry, Miss Goodwitch, is it okay if-"

"I already gave my okay to that, didn't I?" the stern teacher replied.

"Well, not explicitly," he mumbled, scratching his head.

The woman nodded to that, accepting his reasoning. The mute girl grinned at her again, before signing something.

"Oh, right! Force of-"

The knight interrupted himself, a shudder going through his body. Both women noted this with slight worry.

"Is everything alright, Jaune?"

He turned around, confusion on his face. "Yeah. I just had the weirdest feeling of dread."

Both women raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't further question it.

"Would you like to sit down at a café?" Miss Goodwitch piped up, a thought crossing her mind. "I know a wonderful establishment not far from here. They serve some wonderful little cakes."

Neo cheered in silence and applauded the woman. Jaune seemed to lighten up again.

"Lead the way, Glynda!" he simply stated.

As they made their way down the street, Glynda took the time to look at the store the mute had exited.

It was an ice cream parlor that bragged to have every available flavor in store.

'_Miss Xiao Long would have a field day with this,'_ the off-duty teacher thought to herself.

/-/

A sudden sneeze came out of Yang's nose.

"Gross!" yelled Arslan, face scrunched up. "Keep that away from me!"

The courtyard was messy enough to make Miss Goodwitch have a stroke. Various craters adorned the pavement, a few benches and lampposts were bent out of shape or completely wrecked and one bush had a human shaped imprint. Yang had thrown Arslan in there, who returned the favor promptly. The other bush, in return, had caught fire because some leaves were stuck in Yang's hair.

And nobody touches the hair.

Except maybe Jaune. Yang knew he would be gentle with it, what with having seven sisters. He probably was used to brushing, or being forced to brush, long blonde hair.

The two brawlers faced each other, glaring, focused on the fight once more.

Break time was over and the fighters engaged again.

/-/

Meanwhile in JNPR's dorm…

Nora was walking around the room. She was slightly ruffled from her earlier bout with Blake to abduct, sorry, _invite_ the knight to a heart-to-heart in their room. When they realized that he wasn't going to show up, the amorous maiden split up for a search.

So far, Jaune was not found.

"Where could Jaune-Jaune be?" asked the Queen of the Castle. "Where, oh where..."

"We should just write him," Ren interjected, ever the voice of reason. The green ninja had joined Nora's search up until he had that thought. Much to his dismay, one of Gwen Darcy's throwing knives had torn the scroll from his hand and embedded itself into the wall.

Gwen had been the last one standing out of Team NDGO. Pyrrha, as expected, had bested them all. She was also quite devastated at the thought of her partner missing, right before an alarm from her scroll gained her attention.

The spartan had disappeared then, running off someplace else, leaving four unconscious huntresses behind.

"Genius, Renny! Pure genius!" the excitable hammer wielder replied. She already had her scroll in hand, when the door of the room opened.

Pyrrha Nikos sneaked inside with a suspiciously large package in her hands. Upon seeing the curious faces of her teammates, she froze on the spot, leaving the door to fall back into the lock.

"What'cha got there, Pyrrha?"

The redhead slowly adopted the shade of her hair. "Nothing of concern."

Ren wasn't having any of it. "You sneaked in here, looking around for witnesses, holding a large package in your hands. That is not 'nothing of concern'."

The spartan sighed, drooping.

"Promise not to tell anyone," she pleaded, fear and concern on her face.

Team Sloth looked to each other, before Nora answered with her usually chipper voice. "Let's see what's inside first!"

Before Pyrrha could register what was happening, Nora descended upon the package, tearing it open full force.

She looked upon the precious cargo with genuine surprise.

Ren, eyes widened with an equal emotion, asked the Invincible Girl with genuine curiosity: "Where, exactly, did you get that?"

The not-so-sneaky huntress poked her index fingers together and shyly looked away. "There is a company in Mistral. I sent them the specifications, a photo and a rough sketch of what I wanted."

The package consisted of a life-sized body pillow, adorned with the full posture of one Jaune Arc. His expertly drawn body was dressed in a half-unzipped onesie, showing off his toned physique while he looked seductively at the beholder.

For a while, nothing was said. Then Nora piped up.

"If you borrow it to me from time to time, I'll keep quiet. These things are the _comfiest_."

"Deal."

/-/

A dominatrix, a forger and a mute walk into a bar.

Glynda Goodwitch was not amused by the situation. As it turned out, the cafè had to temporarily close for renovations, so Neo did the next best thing and dragged the knight along to the less homely establishment.

The fact that this bar was well furnished and well maintained with few people of ill repute frequenting the establishment only served to slightly soothe the teacher's now frayed nerves.

The trio sat down at one of the various tables meant for four people. While the teacher was annoyed at the situation, the young Arc had a wry smile on his face while Neo silently looked at him with an odd hunger in her eyes.

"When you decided to take the lead," Jaune wondered, "I expected another ice cream parlor, not a bar."

"As did I," Goodwitch interjected. "I must ask you, Miss Neopolitan, do you have an ulterior motive in dragging us here?"

Neo appeared hurt at the accusation, shook her head and crossed her heart.

"I see. That is a mild relief." The teacher let her gaze wander around the establishment. A few were drunk already, despite the day having progressed only to late noon. Some businessmen were at another table, perhaps closing a deal or celebrating a signed contract for something big, like a company merger.

She also saw three young girls, about Jaune's age, giggling and waving at him. He looked somewhat confused at that and just waved back with an awkward smile. The girls just giggled louder at that, while Neo started pouting at him.

"You are aware of their intentions with you?" the disciplinarian, uncharacteristic of her, decided to tease him about him, partly to annoy their unwanted companion but mostly to try and distract her from the jealousy she felt.

Her student, much to her surprise, now looked even more confused. "To greet me?"

Glynda blinked in surprise. Neo's eyes shifted color wildly to showcase her own confusion. "No. They were flirting with you."

"Me? Why would they do that?"

That did not sound good.

"Jaune, this sounds worrying."

"But why are you worried?" he asked, as if nothing was wrong.

Why, indeed? At first, she worried for someone who was obviously unprepared for life at Beacon; life as a huntsman. Then she worried, on that one fateful day, about the general reaction of the students to Mister Arc's forgeries.

Now?

"Your mental health seems concerning. Why is it such an outlandish concept for you that someone would find you attractive?"

"So far, nobody has."

Okay, what the fuck.

The mute, sitting beside the knight, was signing wildly at him. Glynda interjected to drag this conversation to the land of the voiced.

"Could you tell us why? I can assure you, whatever you tell us will be purely confidential. Isn't that right, Miss Neopolitan?"

The ice-cream girl nodded rapidly, clutching a parasol. Glynda swore she did not see that one before. Was there a semblance at play?

The young, worrisome blonde swallowed hard, his eyes seemingly losing their light.

And he talked.

/-/

Never before had Glynda Goodwitch felt such a vicious, overwhelming rage against children she had never even met before.

Neo did not fare any better, grip tightening and loosing sporadically, as if she tried to massage her palms to calm down.

"Unacceptable," the deputy finally spoke. "What they did to you was inadmissible, Jaune. Though I must recommend you now for your tenacity in courting Miss Schnee. A shame she didn't appreciate it."

"Erm, thanks, Miss Goo- Glynda," Jaune uttered, still sounding depressed from recalling the revolting behavior of his peers.

Neo seemed to have an idea, as she spotted the menu card. She grabbed it and hailed a waiter over to point at an item on the extensive menu. The stern woman hoped, for her sake, that it was non-alcoholic.

The mute seemed to realize her concerns and signed something.

"'I pointed to some frilly juice mix. It will cheer you right back up.'," the knight translated and laughed. "Gee, thanks, Neo."

"Out of curiosity Jaune." Goodwitch could not contain the question any more. "How did you learn sign language?"

The knight blinked, then smiled at her, then Neo, who immediately seemed to lighten up. "One of my sisters was deaf for a while, before she got surgery to fix it. Every one of us learned it to be able to speak with her."

Both women were touched at the dedication of the brother of seven. Neo used this to sign something else.

"'You are more attractive than you think you are. Those others just had some really bad taste.' Do you mean that?"

The ice-cram mute nodded with energy, then looked over to Glynda, the message clear.

"I can assure you, Jaune, that there is at least one woman whose attention you caught. Believe me there." The usually stern deputy smiled at him warmly, encouraging. Beside the knight, Neo preened with an expression that practically screamed 'You are god damn right!'.

"I..." He teared up a bit.

Years, literal years of ridicule and belittlement seemed to lose their influence on the blonde within seconds. "Thank you. Both of you," he whispered, voice dampened by pure emotion. "This means so much to me."

The women smiled at him, genuine joy at his recovery from those darker times evident.

The drink came, as ordered. Neither of the women had ordered a thing, simply forgetting about it.

Glynda couldn't help but note the ridiculousness of this thing.

The liquid had four different colors and was confined to a simple cylindrical glass, adorned with a paper umbrella. It was the tackiest drink she had ever seen.

It also had a strange smell…

"Oh neat! I am thirsty! Bottoms up!"

The healed knight drank the entire thing.

"Miss Neopolitan." Goodwitch had a sneaking suspicion. "May I see the menu?"

The brightly smiling mute handed the small laminated booklet to her.

A pair of green eyes widened in horror.

The drink that Jaune had carelessly downed in one gulp was called the "Epic Mindfuck", a fruit cocktail consisting of peach, apple, cherry and banana juice.

It also had 83% alcohol.

A very furious teacher showed the item to the smaller woman, which was inconveniently positioned right below the "Happy Times", the non-alcoholic version of the other drink.

The sole difference was the paper umbrella, apparently.

Neo paled.

/-/

"Sssso den, where is what we do?"

Jaune Arc was sloshed out of his mind. His teacher valiantly supporting the unfortunate victim of a mistaken order from the left whilst Neo was close to his right side, looking for any dangers.

Glynda had declared that they return to Beacon at once. She would not have a drunken student doing Oum knows what in Vale.

With a stranger, no less.

"Everything feels ffffuny." I did not take long for the monstrosity of a mixture to kick in with full force. He would definitely have a hangover the next day.

"You smeeeeeeeeeeell nice!"

"Thank you, Jaune."

"You arrrrr nice!"

"Thank you, Jaune."

"Neo, you are alssso nice!"

Neo, Glynda was certain, was blushing at this.

"I likes the both of ya."

'_My, my, my. Naughty boy._'

Not right now!

"Whyy is your hare, your _hairrr_" he babbled. "so like dat?" His voice dropped into a reverent whisper. "It looks like moonlight."

Professor Goodwitch fought a blush down. She had not been compimented like this before. The only ones who ever had tried to flirt with her made a coment on her figure or were the exasperating mix of awkward and self-assured like James Ironwood was.

Glynda was not sure if the General liked the image she had crafted in her years as a disciplinarian or he thought her a like-minded person. Someone with the drive to be the pinnacle, the paragon of humanity reinforced with technology. She was not sure she wanted to know the answer. To her, they were just friends.

At best.

A sharp movement of the boy towards her caught her attention. The move was not natural, as he had contorted his body a little too much.

"Neo?"

The mute was pouting up at him.

"But you're da cutest! You look like ice cream!" He blinked, looking up. "I want ice cream."

"Later." Glynda would not risk having her student vomit all over the damn bullhead. She had, frankly, not expected the whole excursion with the weakest of the first years to be this fun. Overall, she meant. There was nothing fun about having to recall a shitshow incited by a brat who thought of bullying like a game.

Neo, meanwhile, was pushing against him, so obviously fishing for more compliments.

"Wanna hug?"

"Mr Arc, I will let you walk alone."

"Nuuuuuu," he whined. "You're comfy."

Finally, the trio reached the bullhead, only for Glynda to encounter the most glaring problem here.

Motion sickness.

It was difficult, especially in his current state, to focus the aura in a way to ward it off successfully. Then an idea came to her. Simply levitate him throughout the journey, keeping him stable and sickness-free.

Yes. This was the solution.

"Miss Neopolitan." Goodwitch addressed the short mute with a small glare, before her features softened. "In the future, please do not commit the same mistake again."

"Seeya, Neo!" Jaune hollered with more volume than necessary. "It was great seein you again. Wanna see you again soon. I likes ya!"

Neo blushed at that, her eyes adopting a rosy tint.

The deputy turned to the bullhead, student hovering next to her for his safety. She ignored his amusing cries of "I can fly!" And "Look, no hands!"

/-/

Neo looked on to the sloshed young man, who had finally bared his old wounds to her. She herself, enforcer of Roman Torchwick, a hardened killer, had seen abuse, torture on the streets before. Though it was never psychological.

And never to someone she genuinely liked. Who treated her like a normal girl. Who had conversed with her like it was the most normal thing.

A guy she had met in an ice cream store, who was happy to share with an ice cream enthusiast.

A guy who was not perving in her.

She was normal to him. Being mute was no issue. Her mismatched eyes were no issue.

She was cute, sure, but otherwise a girl just exceptional in her own way, like all people are if you pay enough attention.

Attention.

She had always attracted the wrong kind, though less so once Roman took her in. She didn't want people to see her coming; with their dirty looks and their dirty minds, grabbing at her with dirty hands.

He was the opposite. She wanted to protect him. Hold him close, hold him dear.

He was a lost puppy, one she would take care of if he was all alone in the world.

Though, no. That would mean taking advantage of him. Neopolitan didn't want that.

Neo, standing forlornly, signed something, even if the knight couldn't see it.

She pointed to herself.

She lightly beat her chest with a fist twice.

She pointed to the sweet blonde, disappearing into the bullhead.

'_I love you.'_

/-/

The deputy of Beacon nearly had an aneurysm as she carried the drunken blonde out of the bullhead normally. Jaune had insisted on it, stating that she was soft and cool.

Glynda fought down a blush at that.

Then, as she settled him down, he thanked her for bringing her and said that he…

Here, his head dipped straight into her cleavage, right before popping out again…

had a lot of fun.

He said that last bit as if he hadn't just drunkenly motorboated his teacher.

She had to fight her own blush and the perverted voice in her mind at the same time.

Then they walked out of the Bullhead and onto the courtyard, which laid in ruins.

Amidst this battlefield, Yang Xiao Long and Arslan Altan had grabbed each others collars and wound up for a punch, before the voice of the feared professor rang out.

"What has happened here, children?! What are you doing, fighting here?!"

The heads of both fighters whipped around in surprise and fear, before noticing the drunk boy.

"Yang, Arrrrslan! No fightie!" Jaune had found this quite amusing.

"What happened to him?!" Yang asked with surprise and concern.

Goodwitch's eye twitched. "He ordered the wrong drink."

"Oh, wow. So he's a lightweight?"

"With 83% alcohol."

The students balked. "Ahm dunk!" And he was not helping.

"Okay, wow." The lioness looked at him with slight pity. "Should we help carrying him?"

"You may, as I will be cleaning up _your_ mess. _ Again._"

Lion and dragon winced.

"I will await the both of you for detention tomorrow."

A dejected sigh escaped both troublemakers. "Yes, Miss Goodwitch."

/-/

"Oh Oum, Jaune, what happened to you?!"

"He got sloshed by accident."

"How does one accidentally get sloshed?! And why was he in Vale?!"

"Searched clothes. Got none."

The two belligerent rivals had successfully carried the object of their affection to his dormroom. As reluctant as they were to do so, they at least could be sure that neither Pyrrha nor Nora nor Ren would try anything with a drunk/hungover Jaune.

And the trip to the dorm was fun.

"You have really soft hair."

"You smell nice, Arslan."

"Yang, I wanna s-urp! Wanna say that your hair is like sun. The sun, I mean, not Sun. You know."

"Arslan, why are your eyes so beautiful."

"Did anyone ever tell you that your eyes shine like amethysts? It's pretty."

"Arslulu- Arsla-hrp! Arslan, your hands are soft. Can you make them cool and hold them in my face? I feel hot."

Scratch that, it was difficult not to push him into an empty classroom and just take him. Only common sense restrained them at this point.

Also the various bruises and depleted aura from their fight.

"Now, be nice to him, P-Money. I'm gonna come by tomorrow with some hangover medicine." Yang had a winning smile on her face, thanks to getting drunken compliments from her crush.

Arslan was no better. "I think I have some rural medicine somewhere. I'm gonna come by, too."

The champion's eye twitched as she helped her partner into the room.

"Yay! Sleeping!"

"Thank you for bringing him here," Pyrrha said in her politest tone possible. "You do not need to come by tomorrow. I am sure I can care for him just fine."

"We, Pyr-Pyr, you mean we," Nora interjected.

The redhead subtly rolled her eyes at that as...

"Pyr, why is there another mee in your bed?"

Pyrrha Nikos shut the door with an eep.

Dragon and lion still stood before the shut door.

"What was he talking about?"

"Dunno. Wanna find out tomorrow?"

"Ohoho, you are _on_."

**Omake**

Two girls faced each other down, fierce glares in place. The standoff had been going on in silence for a while now, when finally one strutted forward.

"Oh, how bold," Blake Belladonna commented. "So you approach me?"

Velvet Scarlatina snarled: "I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer."

"Such coarse language," chided the disguised faunus. "Do you think you will win today?"

"Once you're out of my way, I will prove something to the world."

"And what is that?"

A feral grin crossed Velvet's features "Bunnies have more fun."

Meanwhile, at the sidelines, Team CRDL and Mercury were passing the popcorn and watching the showdown intently.

"You know," Mercury got out between munches. "This is why I kinda find it hard to envy Jaune."

Dove raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

"Well, he has a lot of attention on him. And without us, someone would inform Ironwood and have him arrested over, what are basically, some pieces of paper." Mercury found the transcript system to be bullshit. There were just too many variables between individuals that were not taken into account in these things. For him, supporting the blonde doofus was a matter of principle.

Also, a big stinking middlefinger to Ironpenis, but I digress.

"True. Bt what about the girls?" interjected Sky.

"He has to make a decision someday," Merc carried on. "One hat will potentially leave a lot of broken hearts. Knowing him and his bleeding heart, he will not be able to do it on the fly."

"What if he takes more than one as a girlfriend?" Russell pondered.

"That's asking for a beating," rumbled Cardin, eyes fixed on the impending punchfest. "And even if he pulls that off, he will have to balance it all out."

"Meaning it will cause him some serious effort to keep his relationships healthy. Yeah, I get it now." Dove had a whole new outlook on this whole business now. With a wince, he involuntarily recalled a discussion with Jaune mounting in the realization that all the girls at the academy considered the boys to be undateable because of their history.

It stung for sure, but it also kicked their asses into gear, making them swear to be better than this.

With the talking done on all fronts, the boys leaned back to watch the ultimate showdown.

Which one was worthy? which one was the surpreme waifu?

Catgirl or bunnygirl?

It ended with a draw, as Goodwitch made them pay for the amount of collateral damage produced. CRDL and Mercury as well, as they did nothing to stop this.


	6. Chapter 6: Keep those doctors away

**Hello!**

**With this update, all other chapters should have been spellchecked and proofread by yours truly. Though there could still be grammatical errors...**

**I apologize for the misplaced commas, seeing as I approached the whole thing following the german way of things (yes, I am german. Want things translated to "Old Mantle" for whatever reason, pm me.)**

**As for the spelling mistakes in drunk!Jaune's speech, that one was on purpose.**

**Also big thanks to Christian Maulkner for pointing out a mistake that greatly aggravated me.**

**And now, I have a new idea for a fic! The premise is that Jaune, by mistake, gets sent to a school for juvenile felons and "problem children". Would feature a goth Nora, ya girl Vernal and my favorite OC of this fandom, Bleiss Schnee!**

**I actually make this story up as I go along. Weird, huh?**

**Enjoy!**

For Want Of A Knight

Chapter 6: Keep those doctors away!

Awakening with a splitting headache, Jaune opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling of his room.

'_How did I get back? What happened yesterday, __anyway__?'_

The hungover knight grumbled and moaned as he tried to sit up.

"GOOD MORNING, FEARLESS LEADER!"

Mind-numbing headache. "Owwww..." Jaune whimpered.

"Oh, sorry," Nora amended, now much less loud. "Good morning, fearless leader."

"Morning, Nora," the fearless leader whimpered, turning to her. His teammate regarded him with a worried smile, standing next to his bed. Next to her stood Ren, his expression as unreadable as usual.

"Is he awake?" the voice of his partner piped up. Pyrrha practically blinked into existence next to her teammates, worry etched onto her face. "Oh, Jaune. Good morning!"

"Mornin', Pyrrha," he slurred. "I feel like I just came out of a tumble dryer. What happened to me?"

The three looked at each other, worry seemingly amplifying. "You got escorted here by Arslan and Yang, drunk off your butt," Nora started. "According to them, you went to Vale with Miss Goodwitch. What's up with that?"

Pyrrha's expression seemed to adopt an undertone of something he couldn't quite identify. Plus, the dork was too hungover to properly think about anything other than his suffering.

"I wanted to go shopping for clothes and ran into Miss Goodwitch," he started explaining. "We found nothing, so we went for a walk through Vale. We met Neo, a friend of mine, and got into...a bar?"

Jaune could only draw that conclusion via his current situation. His friends looked at each other again, then back to him, now questioning.

"Who is Neo?" Nora's voice seemed to have an edge to it.

"A friend. Met her at an ice cream parlor a while ago. She is pretty nice." Best not mention that she is the accomplice of a known thief and certified badass.

Pyrrha took a deep breath. Then she told him in her sweetest voice: "Well, no matter. We would like to take care of you right now, but we have class now." She gave him a glass of some brownish liquid. "Here, drink."

"What is this beverage made of?" Jaune, despite his condition,was wary of any funny looking liquid, His very instincts told him to stay away from that.

"I mixed you something made of my home-grown herbs," Ren spoke up. "It should help you with your current condition, purging the leftover toxins in your system."

The knight winced. While the health benefits of these herbs were undeniable – these things once cured Pyrrha from a cold within the day – they were also anything but tasty.

"Just power on through, fearless leader," the Valkyrie whispered to him. "Get well soon."

"And don't let anyone else in," warned his partner, throwing him another strange look.

And with that, NPR was gone, leaving their leader to suffer alone, if only not to suffer the wrath of the Goodwitch. Combat class was scheduled today, and after the destruction yesterday she was in a foul mood.

The concoction tasted disgusting, as he expected, and nearly made him throw up.

Face scrunched up, he fell back to his mattress, right as a knock rang on the door.

"Heya, Vomit Boy, it's me!"

Jaune groaned as an answer. The herbs had paralyzed his tongue, making it feel like he had grown fur on it.

"Rubes, can you break the lock?"

What?

Mere seconds later, the door swung open, revealing the two sisters smiling at him. Yang had a packet of what seemed to be medicine in her hands.

"Hi, Jaune," the little Rose chirped. "We asked to be briefly excused to check up on you."

Somehow, he doubted that.

"We brought medicine," Yang continued, heedless of his deadpan expression. "It's what I usually take whenever I get hungover."

"You get hungover?" Jaune croaked. The numb feeling on his tongue started to dissipate, making him capable of articulating simple words once more.

"That unbelievable, huh? Then again, I am just _that_ amazing." She threw him a flirty wink, before being elbowed by Ruby, telling her it was not the time.

The two approached his bed, Yang preparing the thing while Ruby looked at him in worry.

"You don't look so hot."

"Wow, Rubes," Yang laughed. "You can't just say that to a guy."

"Not what I meant!" Her sister was blushing. "He just seems worse than you on a hangover."

Yang pondered something. "Well, 83% alcohol are nothing to scoff at."

"How much?!" Jaune yelled before wincing at his own yelling.

"Hell yeah! You were so wasted!" she teased him. "You flirted with me the whole time we went back here." She grinned at the memory.

The knight winced at that. Now that was just embarrassing. She would never let this go, would she?

Taking the damn glass with the medicine, he downed it all in one gulp.

At least the taste didn't make him want to hurl.

"Thanks, Yang. You're a lifesaver. This tasted better than Ren's medicine." The ninja could really come up with something that was taste neutral and didn't taste like rotten grass.

Don't ask, he lost a bet with his sister.

Yang smiled, adopting a small blush. "Eh heh. You're welcome. Don't want you to ruin your bedsheets, now would we?" Her voice seemed to try sounding boisterous, yet there was something akin to shyness in there.

What was that about? And why was he trying to recall something from yesterday? A conversation with Neo and Glynda about…

"Hey, what about me?" Ruby was pouting cutely at him, making him want to reach out and pet her.

So he did.

A squeak and blush was his reward for it. "Sorry, Rubes. Thank you for keeping me company."

Ruby did everything she could not to press her head into his hand.

/-/

While he was distracted, Yang set out to complete her secondary objective. She had to find out what that was yesterday about 'another' him in Pyrrha's bed. It had been niggling at her mind since yesterday, and she would not stop before finding out.

She looked under the bed.

Nothing. Not even a layer of dust. P-Money was meticulous.

Now the closet.

_'__What in the fuck?_'

Yang stared at the thing for a bit, before closing the door.

That was a honest-to-oum body pillow in there, featuring a seductive Jaune Arc.

First of all, that was prime blackmail material.

Secondly, she wanted one. That one. She heard some rumors about them being insanely comfortable and wanted to see if those rumors had any merit.

There could be a live one. Unfortunately, the candidate for it was suffering from too much alcohol.

Another day, then.

She regarded her sister looking like a puppy getting attention, softly cooing from the gentle headpats, when suddenly…

"Miss Xiao Long, Miss Rose," Miss Goodwitch's voice rang out. "Care to explain why you are not in class right now?"

Oh goodness no.

"Class, now." Her voice did not book any argument.

Ruby eeped and semblance'd her way out of the open door. Yang was walking by the teacher, wincing.

"Get well soon, Lover Boy." She threw him a last smoldering look before taking off, the stern glare of the dismayed deputy following her.

"I, too, wish for your speedy recovery, Mister Arc." She made to close the door as Jaune spoke up.

"Could you leave it open?" His voice didn't sound pained anymore. "If others want to visit, let them. It gets boring by myself."

"As you wish."

As Yang rounded the corner, she stilled for a bit, hoping to catch a tidbit of more conversation.

"Remember what I told you yesterday, will you?"

What? What did she tell him?!

As the clacking of stilettos rang out, Yang made like a tree.

/-/

The knight was alone with himself once more, trying to remember the talk from yesterday.

As he agonized over the tidbits he slowly remembered, someone announced their coming with a knock.

Velvet Scarlatina, the bunny faunus of team CFVY, poked her ears out of the open door.

"Hello, Jaune," she greeted, her accented voice making her even more endearing. "How are you going?"

"So-So," Jaune admitted. He felt like shit when he woke up, but after two doses of medicine he felt better, if still like he was run over.

Velvet now showed up in full, her chocolate eyes looking at him with the same worry present in his other friends' eyes. She traipsed over to him, perhaps to talk better and get a closer look.

"Yeesh, Jaune, you look like you got fooked by a shiting beer barrel," the bunny noted, before covering her mouth with a squeak.

The dork looked at her in bewilderment before bursting into laughter. "Oh oum, what was that Velvet? You sounded hilarious!" he wheezed out.

The bunny smiled at him warmly, lightly blushing. "Sorry. It happens whenever I feel either angry or relaxed."

"Which one are you right now?"

"Relaxed, thanks to you," she noted, light blush adorning her cheeks.

Jaune found it immensely adorable, a bright contender for Ruby's pouting face.

"Say, Jaune." Velvet was well on her way to become Scarlet-tina. "If you feel bad you could always..." Her voice trailed off slightly, before muttering audibly "rub my ears."

"Are you sure?" The Arc was well aware that faunus traits were sensitive, hence why it had hurt her so bad when Cardin used to pull on them.

"I am sure," she clarified, her gaze now full of determination.

Jaune reached out, gingerly starting to caress her ears.

Velvet stiffened slightly, but began to relax immediately after he started rubbing.

She grew redder, as Jaune noted the softness of her ears.

'_Oh sweet Oum, so fluffy, so soft._'

He did not want to stop rubbing them, ever.

He was focused on the pleasurable feeling of her ears, rubbing them gently.

It was almost a shame he didn't notice the expression on her face.

Her cheeks crimson, eyes occasionally rolling up, a lustful grin on her face as her tongue started rolling out. Clutching the bedsheets, the pleasure he gave her ears was almost unbearable.

It did not take long.

Tongue returning into her mouth, Velvet locked up, shivering like a leaf and...moaning?

Jaune looked on in worry, releasing her ears.

As the bunny stopped shaking, Jaune wanted to ask her if everything was okay.

She squeaked once more, jumping up, excusing herself from the room and fleeing in a hurry.

Leaving behind a very confused knight.

He didn't know what was up with her. Jaune resolved to ask her later, when the timing was good and he was back up.

Back to loneliness once more, he had time to ponder what was said yesterday. Snippets of the conversation came back to him.

Had he told them of back then?

Before he could recollect things in full, he heard the door go shut.

"Jaune. Are you awake?"

"Hello, Blake." The blonde sat up, feeling better by the minute thanks to medicine and Aura. "Nice to see you."

"Likewise." She gave a rare smile. The catlike ninja had actually been a cat faunus in disguise. Jaune had found out one evening as he caught her in the library with her bow off.

He figured she had her reasons to hide. Thus, he promised her right away not to tell anyone. Blake seemed happy with that and, on occasion, they met up to read books in silence. Jaune was more into the classical hero stories, while Blake enjoyed erotic literature. It had pleased her greatly that he referred to it as such.

A little known or appreciated fact was that the distinction between smut and erotic literature was that smut usually didn't have a plot or only briefly skimmed over the details before getting into the nasty. Erotic literature, on the other hand, was signified with more plot than sex scenes, the latter usually complementary to the actual plot of the story.

Jaune should know; he co-wrote Blake's favorite series.

Not that he told Blake.

It was for the best that she didn't know, he supposed. Or anyone, for that matter. Regardless of his and Blake's shared interest in literature of any kind, even if it did not exactly, 1:1, extend to her favorite genre, it was far too awkward to let anyone know. Yang would tease him relentlessly and neither Ruby nor Pyrrha would be able to look him in the eye for a bit.

They had been meeting up for a few weeks in secret now.

Why secret?

It made it all a little bit more fun, or so Blake told him while reading a new addition to her private library.

Something about knights and ninjas?

Now, her bow was off, revealing two small black kitty ears. Jaune found them quite cute.

The ninja sauntered towards him. "On my way here I saw Velvet running away. Did something happen?"

He wondered about that himself. All he did was…

"I rubbed her ears. She offered."

"Did she now?" Her voice suddenly turned sultry, her eyes half-lidded as she smiled lasciviously.

Jaune did his best to ignore the alluring sight. "Erm..."

"Want to know about it?" Out of nowhere, her legs swung over his midsection, straddling him as she lowered her head to him.

"Touch my ears next and I will tell you."

Confused, but somewhat eager to repeat the experience, he complied.

Blake started purring.

The blonde looked at the dark-haired woman on top of him with a wide-eyed expression, hands in motion regardless. The felt a bit different than Velvet's, but still pleasant to the touch.

"You see," she gasped. "The features of a select few faunus tend to double as erogenous zones.

His hands stilled.

"Keep going," she moaned, pressing his hands onto her ears, purring as he continued.

"Shouldn't..." He was unsure what was going on. "Shouldn't you be doing this with someone you like?"

She smiled up to him, hunger in her dilated pupils, her smile lustful. "I am."

Oh.

He finally remembered what had happened yesterday.

How he told Neo and Glynda about his past torment; how they reacted with rage against his previous schoolmates. How they assured him that he was actually quite attractive and that there was at least one girl who did like him.

And he was touching her ears right now.

'_Sweet Monty Oum._'

He hadn't ever imagined. Sure, she had started blushing a little whnever they sat a little closer to get comfortable. Sure, he once told her that he could make anything with fish that didn't involve frying it, which had pleased her greatly. Yeah, she started purring when reading her 'knights and ninjas' book, which was the most adorable thing. Yeah, he let that slip in front of her, making her blush like mad.

But was that...

Yeah, no. That was most definitely a crush. No argument against it. Especially not with her on top of him!

"I've seen you look at my butt, Jaune," Blake teased, wiggling it for emphasis.

Only for half a second. And only because she walked in front of him. His family raised him better than this!

"I want you to look."

Holy hell.

"And I want you to-"

The door broke apart. The universe did not seem to want her to finish the sentence just yet.

Using her reflexes, Blake hid in the closet.

What was once a door was now ruin and plywood. Behind it stood a smiling Team NDGO.

"Hello, Jaune!" Nebula greeted first. "Remember when we were sick?"

Octavia stepped up, her auburn hair slightly billowing. "We are here to return the favor!"

The knight was still somewhat in lockdown, too shocked at the recent revelation to respond.

"Uh, Jaune?"

Was that the reason why Yang and Ruby had looked at him like that?

"Remnant to Jaune?"

Was that why Neo was so happy to see him?

"Is he okay?"

Was that why Pyrrha had been treating him the way she did?! She thought that it was just her being nice, like she was to everyone!

"Beep!"

A poke into his cheek shook the blonde out of his thoughts. His gaze focused onto the four girls that had decided to break down the door.

"Hello, girls. Why did you wreck my door?

Because they felt that his chastity was threatened by someone who was not them.

"No real reason." Dew scratched her head, performing a playful gesture.

/-/

Meanwhile, in the chatroom 'Honorguard'…

RenIsZen: Greetings, everyone. Jaune is okay.

MaceMan: Thank fuck for that.

ReleaseTheDoves: What happened anyway?

CantRushTheThrush: jauney got to drinking

SkyHigh: u wot

CantRushtheThrush: without us, too

CantRushTheThrush: for shame

UgonnaGetMercd: Ey, guys. Just found out something.

UgonnaGetMercd: Some faunus get sexual when you touch their features

SkyHigh: dafuq

MonkeyBusiness: This is true. But only sometimes.

CantRushTheThrush: Does this mean that touching them without consent is sexual harassment?

MonkeyBusiness: Basically. Though it's only on Menagerie, I think

ReleaseTheDoves: Holy fuck no

CantRushTheThrush: guys help

CantRushTheThrush: cardins having a breakdown

SkyHigh: sun u come here?

MonkeyBusiness: Why? Whats happening?

ReleaseTheDoves: Long story. We are not proud of it. And now even less so.

**Omake**

Yang was conflicted.

She had to admit to herself that her own reaction to anyone laughing at her puns had caught her off guard. Hell, would she be doing that to anyone?! That wouldn't do.

Though, for some reason, only Jaune had laughed at one of her puns. She wondered if she could recreate this event. Though this time she was prepared!

"So Jaune, have you heard of the guy who got cut in half?"

The young man had minded his own business, was actually slinking back to his dormroom right now, when she caught up to him. He lifted an eyebrow at her, giving her the attention.

"He's all right now." It was an oldie, but a good one. Jaune suppressed a smile at that.

"Wonder though, is he a cut above the rest now?" That was her own creation. The blonde before her shook a little.

'_Stay calm._' Her breathing had picked up.

"I bet he had to split from his old job because of this." The shaking got harder as Yang started breathing a little heavier.

"Though the job was cut-throat anyway, what with all the sharp suits and sharper tongues."

He snickered. "Stop with the cutting puns!"

Switch it up? Alright!

"Alright, I'll cut it out." He looked away, hiding his grin and not seeing the increasingly feral expression on Yang's face.

"Though I bet our Ice Queen would give us a 'tongue-slashing' if we asked n-ice-ly to listen to my cutting-edge jokes."

"Stop!" he guffawed. That did it.

'_Bring those lips here,_ _boy_.'

She grabbed him by his bottom, lifted him up and pushed him against the wall, her lips meeting his. Yang did not take into account that Jaune's aura was mostly depleted after a sparring session with Nora - who only had Ren as impulse control - and thus knocked him out with the unfortunate blow to the head.

"YANG!"

The furous bellow of the resident spartan interrupted the dragon from marking her potential mate, thus interrupting the complicated mating ritual of the Sun Dragon (draconis solaris).

"Put him down this instant!" The scream made Yang come back to her normal senses and she lost her grip on Jaune's buttocks.

'_Huh, he has a nice butt hidden away,_' she mused, off in her own world while an unconscious noodle was carted off to his room.


	7. Chapter 7: games and pondering

**Hello!**

**For the record, I write these chapters within the day they are uploaded.**

**Is this normal?**

**Anyhow, to the one guest who seems to hate arkos: I will not spoil a thing. I will, however, aim to entertain you.**

**To Lime: Exactly! This is why betrayal fics are so aggravating to me.**

**I may decide to take a break day once a week to build up a backlog. If I decide to, you will be informed.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 7: games and pondering

"It's okay, really. I can do this by myself."

"C'mon, Jaune! You are still wobbly on your feet!"

"Yeah! Who says that you won't slip and fall in there?"

The blonde sighed. On one hand, the attention given by an entire team of beautiful girls at once was something other men would envy him for. Something lesser men would kill for.

Jaune did not consider himself a lesser man. Not after realizing that Velvet and Blake had feelings for him. Why else would they allow him to touch their ears, a very sensitive zone on their faunus bodies.

Come to think of it, wouldn't that mean for Blake that wearing the bow counts as bondage?

Questions for later.

A wholly different problem was at hand. Team NDGO had decided to pay him a visit and had inadvertently hindered Blake from continuing her advances on him. Something his body would not have any problem with.

The problem was his heart. He was unsure what to feel right now; what he felt for her and the other girls who seemed to have developed an interest in him.

"We won't look, if that's your problem."

"Girls, please," Jaune pleaded. "I am just going to the toilet. This is something I still can do by myself."

Nebula pouted, but conceded the point. Dew was red-faced, Octavia looked to the wall and Gwen seemed eager to follow him in anyway, and damned what he said about it.

'_This is nuts.'_

The sudden chick magnet successfully entered the bathroom without female escort and went about his business. Despite most of his hangover being cured, the knight was still about as wobbly on his legs as a newborn foal.

As he sat on the toilet for the sake of comfort, he pondered his situation.

'_Alright. Blake likes me, definitely.'_ That was irrefutable after what she had said to him and how she behaved. The question was how and when this had come to pass. The two were reading buddies and Blake, if unwittingly, was a fan of the series he co-penned.

'_Ninjas of love. How you have come to haunt me.'_

But that was about it! He was loud and awkward, she was calm and collected. He was a cheery dork and she was dark and cool.

Perhaps the reason was the age-old decree of opposites attracting each other. Like magnets.

And then there was Velvet. She had practically given him her ears, something that seemed to be a version of petting for faunus.

The shy bunny had become friends with him over their status of bully victims, starting with Jaune saving her from Cardin. That had happened way before the brute had opened a new chapter in his life and all but spat on his former self.

Jaune and Velvet had become fast friends. She was quite knowledgeable about history and helped him with the subject whilst he managed to learn more about Grimm from the Grimm Studies textbook than from Professor Port. So he shared some of that knowledge with her. Alongside that, the both of them were also quite avid gamers, always playing either with cards or a board game or on their scrolls. The banter was what had made it entertaining.

Except Remnant: The Game. Velvet still had war flashbacks whenever he tried to play with her. He liked how defensive she was in her unit movements, forcing him to probe them and costing him time and units. It was rewarding to find that one chink in her armor that made her defense collapse.

Shame that she had been quite proud of her solid defenses. That had never happened to her.

There was also the session with his team. It ended with Nora havin a breakdown, Ren standing in a corner not moving a bit and Pyrrha rocking back and forth while giggling like a maniac, repeating the words 'He beat me' over and over again. That was an experience.

The only one he liked playing against more was Cinder due to her strategy being both assertive and subversive. The war against her had been awesome. Never before was he forced to utilize his chevaliers like that. Of course her reaction to losing had been bad, but it had also budded in a great friendship with the dark beauty.

Or was it friendship?

Now that he had discovered that Blake and Velvet had feelings for him, he was not sure of his friendships anymore. What was next, Ren wanting to bottom for him?

Nora would either kill him or insist on filming it.

"Jaune, you okay in there?"

Not really, no. His business was finished, however, so he made to move from the porcelain throne to adhere to basic hygiene.

Coming out of the bathroom standing a little taller, the dork found all of NDGO surrounding him and offering to escort him back to bed.

Which was only 5 meters away.

From behind the gaggle of girls Jaune noticed Blake sneaking out of the room, holding something large in her arms. The dork knight could not identify what it was.

"I can walk by myself, really. Still, thanks for being here, keeping me company."

The girls seemed to stand a little taller now, smiling at him.

He smiled back, causing a light blush to erupt on their faces.

"Well," Gwen spoke up. "We can stay with you some longer."

The gifted strategist started to grin at them. "Sure thing. But one one condition."

"Anything," breathed Octavia, voice carrying an undertone of hunger.

"Ever heard of Remnant: The Game?"

/-/

UgonnaGetMercd: How is Cardin?

MaceMan: FUCK YOU

MonkeyBusiness: He was joking! I was joking!

MonkeyBusiness: I can't believe you believed that!

ReleaseTheDoves: Still not cool, man.

MonkeyBusiness: OH COME ON!

MonkeyBusiness: It's a rare condition, anyway.

MonkeyBusiness: What are the odds of Velvet having it, anyway?

CantRushTheThrush: anyway

MonkeyBusiness: What?

CantRushTheThrush: anyway

SkyHigh: anyway

MonkeyBusiness: Oh fuck off.

MaceMan: Still gotta apologize to her.

MaceMan: I should ask Jauney Boy for help.

RenIsZen: I have studied up on the topic and can confirm it to be a rare condition exclusive to female faunus for unknown reasons.

SkyHigh: goodie

UgonnaGetMercd: Thank you, Mr Twink

UgonnaGetMercd: FUCK AUTOCORRECT

RenIsZen: Why was my name autocorrected to this?

UgonnaGetMercd: I bet it was Emerald. Fucking bitch.

SkyHigh: suuuuuuure

/-/

"What'cha got there, Blakey?"

The cat faunus stiffened, pressing her prize closer to her body. She had not expected Yang to be here. She should be in class, for crying out loud!

"Why are you here?"

"Why are _you_ here?" the blonde brawler fired back. "Oobleck managed to trip over himself and break his coffee mug. Guy was so despaired we could just leave."

That was exceedingly weird. The speedy professor was not clumsy by any means. This raised the suspicion that there had been someone who interfered, causing the accident in the first place.

"So what have you got?"

Drat.

"Where is Ruby?"

"Toilet!" yelled her team leader from the bathroom.

Yang now looked at her, silently demanding to see her prize. Blake knew there was no escaping her now. On the other side of the door awaited the outside world that would most certainly judge her for this, worse than Yang would do.

Sighing, the ninja showed her partner.

"Oh wow. When did you get that?"

"JNPR's dorm."

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Oh really? Are you trying to steal a march on us?"

Blake wilted a bit. "Well..."

"Honestly, i get that P-Money is the mayor of Thirst City, but that is ridiculous."

"It's also really soft."

Ynag approached the bunk. "Right! My turn!" she shouted to Blake's protest.

Ruby sped out of the bathroom, yelling "Let me see! Let me see!" before spotting the prize.

The body pillow.

Ruby's blush was luminescent.

"I want it."

"Oh no you don't," Blake interjected. "This is my prize, so I get first dibs!"

"_First _dibs?" Yang seemed to have caught on to something there. "So we can share the Lover Boy?"

The cat stiffened. That was not what she wanted to insinuate.

Although the thought was appealing, _appetizing_. Jaune as the father of her kittens, loving her once a day at the very least; sometimes having playtime with her admittedly hot partner or perhaps even Weiss. The heiress was definitely due for punishment.

"Uh, Blakey? You're drooling."

She snapped out of it. "Yes. Sharing. Yes," she muttered.

"Then it's decided!" Ruby was pointing upwards in a heroic pose, determined to rally the troops. "Now we only have to get Weiss in on this and we can launch 'Operation: Sharing is Caring!'"

Yang looked a bit shellshocked. Sure, she knew what she signed up for with her pact with Ruby, but this?

What would they even call this relationship?

Blake, meanwhile, had her own questions in regards to her leader's exuberant declaration.

What had she gotten herself into?

Had she just agreed to sharing Jaune with her team?

'_Well now. I suddenly feel like Ninja's of Love's female lead__. How exciting.__'_

/-/

The war had come to an end. Atlas, once proud industry nation, led by the great consul Ember, had been reduced to nothing.

The Grimm, led by their fierce queen Gwen, were all but eradicated, vast tracts of land already reclaimed for humanity.

The glorious principality of Vacuo, held under Dew Gayl's iron fist, was wiped out. The campaign had been fierce and bloody. The forces from the desert stood nary a chance.

Mistral had fallen. Once under the great leadership of Empress Nebula the nation had suffered one final, crushing defeat against the sole victor.

Vale stood victorious above them all, unrivaled and invincible. King Jaune had gazed upon his neighbors, had come to the battlefield, and won the battles.

No one was there to fight against him anymore.

"Holy fuck," muttered the consul.

"That was almost horrifying," stated the fallen Grimm queen.

"How did you even pull all that off?" asked a bewildered princeps.

"We could have ruled together!" lamented the empress. "You could have been my emperor!"

"I still can be," replied Jaune in a joking manner. "You would just have to agree to flying the Valean flag."

Nebula's blush seemed to lighten the room while her teammates sent her playful glares.

Usually, Jaune would just count it as embarrassment due to having a dork flirt with her.

After the epiphany he had, however? He saw this situation in a different light.

'_Nebula, too? _And _her whole team?'_

This was an issue. He did not want to be responsible for a team shattering, their cohesion breaking apart.

A whirlwind with a hoverboard sailed into the room, interrupting the knight's panicked musings.

"Hello, hello!" Reese Chloris had opted to visit her not-so-secret crush. She had only recently, unbeknownst to Jaune, found out about a particular secret of his.

One that was confided to baggy jeans.

"I came to visit you, Jaune boy! Did you wait for me? Did you? Did you?"

Jaune boy smiled up to her as she descended down onto the floor. "It has been a while, Reese. Good to see you."

The hover boarder smiled back at that. "You better believe it. I heard from Arsie that you got drunk?"

A wince. "Not voluntarily." He would never live this down, would he?

Reese looked him up and down. "You seem fine now, though."

"Because of us!" NDGO rallied behind him, posing dramatically for added effect.

To Reese's dismay, yet another voice piped up.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!"

Ruby's weird but nice friend had entered the room, skipping all the while. This jolly ginger girl's name was Penny Polendina and she was as energetic and curious as she was clueless. "I have overheard something about a hangover! How was the over-consumption of alcohol caused?"

He hanged his head in defeat; this was his day now. "I can't remember."

Penny gasped. "Oh dear! A blackout is most unhealthy, friend Jaune. But wait! For I have composed a poem to cheer you up!"

Jaune couldn't help but chuckle at that. As strange as this girl could be, her heart was definitely in the right place. The other girls eyed her warily, but otherwise had deemed her harmless.

Penny, giddy as always, recited her poem.

"Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

you are nice,

can I fuck you?"

Dead silence.

Wide-eyed and jaw dropped, Jaune's mind was sent reeling by this.

Behind Penny, the door to RWBY's dorm was forcefully opened.

"Excuse me, what?!" It was Yang, disbelieving of what she just overheard.

"Penny!" yelled Ruby.

"Salutations, friend Ruby! May I fuck you, as well?"

Silence again.

"WHAT?!" Yang was confused and angry. How was this girl so brazen about this? And why would she just solicit her sister _and_ her crush like this?!

"Well, I was told by one of my han-_ friends_ that the act of 'fucking' is the performance of an adult hug between two people."

Confusion now overruled anger and indignation. Penny simply skipped over…

And hugged a very confused young man tightly.

"What are you doing?" Dew asked, still at a loss about this entire situation, more confusing than anything.

"I am fucking friend Jaune," the ginger replied matter-of-factly. "Am I doing it wrong?"

No one had anything to say to that.

This entire thing was, to put it mildly, fucking nuts. How a girl managed to not have any sex ed at her age was weird in its own right. Why exactly that friend had told an innocent girl _that_ was either some sick prank or an act of nervousness and desperation.

Which had, in return, birthed the current situation. A perky young girl, innocent as can be, simply skipping over to a boy and asking to fuck. Then turning around to another girl and asking her the same.

Finally, Dew found her voice again.

"This," she wheezed, slowly composing herself in the face of pure fucking insanity.

"This will take a _lot_ of explaining."

/-/

Weiss Schnee had once considered herself at the pinnacle of being.

She had been haughty, expected a little too much from her life at Beacon. She expected to form a team with the Invincible Girl, forming a strong team, perhaps even a friendship with the impeccable fighter.

Instead, she got a clumsy, awkward, scythe-wielding _child_ as a partner. Her teammates seemed no better at first. A big-breasted blonde and sister of her new partner as well as a quiet girl who turned out to be Ex-White Fang.

Despite everything, she would not exchange her team for anything now. As chaotic as life was now, it was a rather welcome change of tapestry and pace. No one to expect anything in regards to poise and manners, no one to police her schedule.

It was quite wonderful, it turned out.

And there was Jaune Arc. At first, she detested the lanky blonde. A guy who seemed to be the same as any other suitor from back in Atlas. Someone after her money and her family name.

And a guy who just would not take the hint and leave her alone.

That changed at the dance. She had found an adequate man in Neptune, a charming young man who delivered every line with absolute confidence. A shame he rejected her for the dance.

Up until the bluenette actually joined her on the dance floor, that is. He was courteous enough to be with her!

On his own?

No.

Jaune Arc, the dork who had spent the longest time trying to woo her, had given Neptune the kick in the pants he needed to admit to the reason why he wouldn't take her to the dance.

Neptune couldn't dance.

Jaune had apologized after the dance for not taking the hint. They both had used the opportunity for a clean slate.

Tabula Rasa.

They started off their acquaintancy once more, this time with more goodwill.

In hindsight, it had been a good thing that the relationship between them didn't last. Weiss found herself watching the dork knight more and more, actually taking notice of his character.

And found that she quite liked what she saw.

Wasn't that ironic?

Weiss noticed the commotion from the JNPR dorm room. She heard multiple female voices arguing about something.

It did not matter. As long as they would fight one another, she would not need to interfere. She could always visit the knight later on.

Weiss Schnee had the advantage. She was sure that there were still some lingering feelings for her. She would capitalize on them in full. She had made a mistake before. Her haughtiness and unwillingness to step down from her high horse had cost her dearly.

Not again.

Weiss Schnee would have her knight in shining armor.

She opened the door to her own dorm.

Only to find Blake cuddling with a suspiciously large pillow…

Wait.

"Blake, what is that?"

The cat perked up at her, suddenly sporting a large grin.

Before she pulled the cover off her and her new pillow.

The dignified Schnee Heiress found herself blushing.

"Where did you get that?!" she shrieked.

"Quiet now, Weiss," Blake warned. "Wouldn't want to alarm the others, would we?"

Good point. The fencer pressed her lips together.

"I found it in Pyrrha's closet."

Oh my. The infatuation of the spartan for her partner was well known to anyone who wasn't him. She would have called him dense for it, but would have made herself a hypocrite in doing so.

She did take her time realizing what she had shunned for so long, after all.

"Now, Weiss." Blake sat up in her bed, smiling at her in a suspicious, almost conspiratory manner.

"I have a proposition for you."

**Omake**

Silence.

Beacon's library was a sanctuary to any who preferred silence and books. Blake Belladonna belonged into both groups, preferring the silence over the rambunctious and active dorm of Team RWBY at times.

The person she would associate with silence and books the least would be the leader of Team JNPR. Jaune Arc seemed to be more interested in comic books and saying things for the sake of saying things, as silence was awkward to him. Yet here he was, next to her, reading 'The Art of War' in silence.

She herself found the tome detailing a philosophy in commanding an army to be outside of her sphere of interests in regards to literature. The disguised cat faunus much preferrederotic literature. Imagine her surprise when the blonde didn't judge her for her tastes _and _didn't dispute her claim about 'Ninjas of Love' not being smut.

Unexpected, but pleasant.

A light snoring caught her attention. Yep, that was the Jaune Arc she knew: falling asleep with book in hand.

Well, 'knew' was a bit of a stretch. the two only started talking to each other by happenstance as he discovered her secret and then humiliated her by stating that he saw through the disguise at first glance. And even then, her obsession with fish was a bit too big of a clue.

'_Bows don't twitch'_. Blake had cursed internally. She had thought her disguise was perfect!

Nevertheless, she had been pleasantly surprised over and over again with the young man. Now again as she listened to the light, gentle snores of his. They weren't at all irritating, but oddly soothing.

Come to think of it, the young man seemed so peaceful, so gentle. His boyish looks gave him something pure, something that made you feel that he needed to be protected and cherished.

How odd.

Especially when you are someone who noticed her own hand creeping across his cheek.

Blake recoiled a bit, surprised at herself. Then she went back to looking.

His lips. Did they always look so...

soft?

Her fingers had traced his lips lightly as she caught herself again zoning out. To distract herself, Blake went back to reading. Though occasionally, she would steal a glance every now and then. Wondering how she had started looking at him, noticing him. And then how she felt when he was near.

She felt at peace around him.

She liked that feeling a whole lot.


	8. Chapter 8: cake and a visit

**A hello to everyone!**

**I will have to upload this series every other day, as real life has not been kind to me recently.**

**As a result, I have lost a bit of my spark for writing this daily.**

**Not to worry though, I will not put this on hiatus if I can help it.**

**Don't you worry, everyone will have their screentime!**

**Everyone.**

**Enjoy the fanfic!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 8: cake and a visit

Coco was looking down at her teammate.

Not in the 'I am better than you' way, of course. No, that would be ridiculous. After the missions they survived together, it would be insane if she ever did that. Matter of fact, the minigunner would be kicking herself if she did do so.

No, Coco was looking down at Velvet, who was huddled in a corner, cheeks burning and face buried in her palms.

"Bun-Bun," she spoke up, causing the bunny to stiffen. "What's wrong?"

Velvet said nothing for a while. Then her voice, muffled by her hands, rang out.

"I was visiting Jaune."

Coco cocked a well-maintained eyebrow at that. "And?"

"I let him touch my ears."

Oh wow. Bun-Bun once told her that her ears were more sensitive than usual faunus ones. Pulling on them was extra painful for her, while caressing them was extra pleasant.

_Very_ pleasant.

"Oho _ho_, Bun-Bun." This would be fun. "That was bold of you."

"Spur of the moment."

"And you stealing a march on me?"

Velvet finally looked up to her, seeming slightly angry. "Listen here, knobslobber. We teamed up to fuck him senseless, didn't we?"

Velvet was angry. It was always great hearing her swear like a sailor. A grin spread on the fashionista's face as the bunny's sudden outburst had her blushing again.

"That we did, Vel. I was not idling around, though."

Her teammate turned to her once more, looking at her sceptically.

The minigunner huffed. "Oh come on. Have some faith in me, will you?"

The look turned deadpan.

"That hurts. Anyhow, I am planning to abduct him for a shopping trip!"

"That is your plan? Take him shopping?"

"Shopping for clothes, obviously. Oum knows Blondie is in need of a wardrobe change."

Jaune definitely was. He wore baggy clothes all around. While they would be undoubtedly comfortable, they were also unsightly and unfashionable. The only somewhat fashionable thing on the guy were the two belts he wore.

Coco secretly hoped they were there to restrain something_ big_, like two padlocks on a cage housing a monster. And what she wouldn't give to have a look.

"So why the planning time? And what's the plan?" Velvet was skeptical about it.

Her team leader grinned. "Easy. We nab him, stuff him in a sack I procured -"

She showed a brown sack made of silk. Who in their right mind would make a sack of _silk_?

"- and we take him on the bullhead to Vale! He will get with us whether he likes it or not!"

Again, an unamused glare was her answer.

"_Or _we could be sensible people and just ask him if he wants to go," offered Velvet.

"You are no fun."

"And you are crazy. Where did you even get a sack of silk?"

"ScrollBay."

Seemed legit. It was actually made as a test for a new type of silk that would hold out in combat. It had never made it to shelves, though.

A shame. Her parent's company would have made a fortune.

/-/

It took half an hour for Yang, Octavia, Dew, Jaune, Nebula and Gwen to explain the intricacies of human intercourse to Penny. Despite her innocence, or rather precisely because of it, she had to know, if only to prevent more mishaps like the recent one.

"I see." The definitely real girl processed the recently acquired information. "So it is an intimate act between two people in love, usually in order to produce a baby."

Nebula looked tired. She did not have to give 'the talk' to anyone before. Practice for the future, she supposed. "Yup, pretty much. If you are blurting it out in public, it's pretty embarrassing."

The ginger nodded at that. "How curious. Why would the man lie to me, then?"

Dew pondered about it before speaking up. "Maybe he felt awkward to give you 'the talk'."

"Why are you making air quotations, Miss Gayl?"

"Call me Dew. And, umm, I think they are for emphasis."

"Sensational!" Penny seemed to take it well. "Friend Ruby!"

Oh no. The little Rose stood near the door frame, frozen with a blush on her cheeks. Yang could swear she wasn't there before.

"I now know about copulation! This is sensational!"

Ruby was barely functioning at this point, her mind racing. "Yeah..." She definitely wasn't all there.

It was official, this was a clusterfuck.

"Okay," Jaune spoke up, still somewhat rattled. "I suggest everyone go back to their rooms now. I need time to cool down and if Pyrrha finds out I let you all in..."

Yang would have called him whipped for that before. Now, however, the situation was different.

A clever ploy. No one to try and charm the poor sick knight meant enough wiggling room for her to put the moves on him.

If she knew how, that is. The Invincible Girl, for all her mastery in combat, was a novice in the art of love. She would definitely crumple if one were to show her some racy material.

Then again, she did buy herself a body pillow of him…

"Excuse me?"

Oh boy.

"Yang," the falsely sweet voice of the red spartan rang out. "Did you bust down this door?"

Why her?! It were the other four idiots in there!

"Oh, it's you guys." Pyrrha seemed to look down on them, lording her superiority. Word from the rumor mill had it that she and NDGO had come to blows yesterday. One would have to be no genius to figure out how that went.

"Hey, Pyrrha! I was lonely, so I let visitors in."

She huffed. Jaune had her wrapped around the finger. One smile, one word and she would do anything for him.

Yang Xiao Long was not like that. It would take more than that to convince her!

Maybe a massage. Back and front. And then…

"But I told you not to!" Now the champion was pouting. "I wanted to make extra sure."

Her partner looked at her, nearly pleading. "But I was lonely and bored. I wanted company."

She blushed at that. Of course she would.

Yang was quite proud of herself for ignoring what Pyrrha had to say about visitors. And what Miss Goodwitch had to say about detention. She would stick to the story that it was an 'Open Air' spar.

And she was thinking of a potentially wasted chance of course.

"Hey Yang," her rival looked at the blonde bombshell, a questioning look on her face. "Shouldn't you be having detention right about now?"

"Pfft, no?" Yang tried to blow it off. Truth be told, she wanted to ditch it, despite the risk of more detention by Goodwitch. The sole reason, spending potential alone time with Jaune. Maybe try and seduce him. See how he reacts.

"Ahem."

Oh heavens no.

"Miss Xiao Long." A stern voice called out. "I do believe your detention awaits."

Moping, the blonde brawler made to follow the teacher, not seeing a triumphant glint in the spartan's eyes.

"All of you as well. Out."

"But-"

"MUSH!"

NDGO filed out, but not without wishing the knight well. Penny still stood there, looking lost.

"Erm, does that include me, too?"

Pyrrha nodded, seeing no threat in the odd but innocent ginger. "Yes, it does. Jaune needs rest right now." She then looked ponderous. "Though you could go and ask for a replacement door. It would be much appreciated."

"Of course!" she chirped in response, making her way out the door and hoisting up Ruby on the way.

"Come, friend Ruby! We have a door to find!"

All had left. Now it was only Pyrrha and Jaune. The spartan and the knight. The champion and her beloved.

"Hey guys! Where is our door?"

Boxblocked again, this time by her own teammates. _Great._

"Did you at least amuse yourself, Jaune?" the redhead inquired, trying not to let her spite against outside interference seep into her voice.

"Yeah, we did! We played Remnant: The Game!"

Oh sweet Monty Oum.

Jaune was a master at this game. Within the second round or so he seemed to have at least 15 plans with 3 backups each ready to dismantle any and all opposition. She had fought him on the cardboard fields of glory and he had demolished her.

Beaten her.

Proven himself superior.

How she wanted to pounce him right then and there, declare herself his queen. Shame that Jaune got worried about them and just left them to cope. It had been pure madness and she wanted it to happen again.

Just with the two of them.

"That sounds nice," Pyrrha finally answered, shelving the thought of 'crowning' her partner for later. "How do you feel right now?"

He grinned. "Still a bit woozy but otherwise fine! Though I feel up for some movies with you guys. Sorry for not training with you today; I know it was your turn and all."

She smiled at that, his compassion endearing as always. "That is no problem. Some movies sound wonderful right now."

/-/

Wednesday, seven in the morning and Jaune wanted to kill whoever was knocking at the door right now.

Sure, he was cured from the hangover and had the pleasant memory of a nice and gentle movie night with his team in mind, with no distractions whatsoever. That and Wednesday was the only day in the week where classes started late enough to get loads of sleep.

Of course, he had to ponder his partner's reaction to him though. When he lightly scooted closer to her yesterday to feel more comfortable, she started blushing and fidgeting while smiling shyly.

It was official. Pyrrha also had a crush on him, perhaps for the longest damn time now, and he was an idiot for not noticing it.

Then again, how could he? Up until Monday afternoon he himself did not truly believe that a woman could actually love him like a woman would a man. How the hell would he come up with the idea that Pyrrha 'nice to everyone' Nikos had feelings for him? Would it be the training and the encouragement? Would it be her shielding him from undue criticism? Would it be the longing looks she sometimes sent him when she thought he wasn't looking?

Okay, yeah, that one might be it.

Having enough of depreciating himself for the day already, Jaune opened the door to reveal a frantic Cardin in T-shirt and pants.

"Jaune, I need your help."

He sighed. "What for?"

"Remember how I used to pull on Velvet's ears?"

"Yeah but why would-"

Oh.

Oh heavens.

"I see."

There went his plans for this morning. Catching up with X-ray and Vav would not happen soon, it seemed.

A wince showed itself in Cardin's body language. "Yeah. I want to apologize for that one."

"What were you thinking about?"

"A cake?"

Good sense. Velvet was a sucker for sweets and would probably enjoy some chocolate mousse cake.

"Alrighty. But you help me with the mixing."

A frantic nod was confirmation enough.

"Now give me a bit. I need to get dressed first."

/-/

Staggering out of the Bullhead towards Beacon during the later morning was a tower of a man.

6'7 of muscle and smiles, he was not quite used to turbulence on the Bullheads, motion sickness medicine be damned. He would have made a poor example for the little bundle of joy that was strapped to his torso.

Looking up to the blonde, bearded man was a toddler. Tan skin and dark hair made for quite the contrast between the two. Nevertheless, the colossus was protective of the tiny guy.

He ignored the stares and mutters as he approached the doors leading into the school. Yes, he supposed, a man like him with a child at a huntsman academy was a strange sight to behold.

It mattered little to him. He was on a personal mission.

The little guy cooed and babbled while looking at all the interesting and new sights and colors.

"Yes, little guy," his keeper laughed. "It is quite lively here, no?"

Now he had to find either a teacher or some students who, preferably, weren't too busy with squealing about his dear grandson. Sure, the little bugger was adorable, but the grandfather had a mission to fulfill.

He caught sight of a particular pair of huntresses in the hallways, arguing about something. One of them was a cute bunny faunus with brown hair and soft brown eyes. Her partner, or so he assumed, was a rather fashionable woman who wore some fine threads. It looked like Adel fashion; the pockets and their make alongside the fashionable and useful appliance of a bandolier gave it away.

_'Dammit, Rouge. Dad didn't have to learn that._'

To add to her appearance she also wore a pair of shades, giving her a cool appearance. Perfect; she would be least likely to be distracted by his grandson.

Thus, the towering man approached the young women, going unnoticed against all odds, too deep in their conversation.

"I keep telling you, Bun-Bun. Duping Cereal Girl won't be easy."

"But we don't have to use the sack!"

"So you say. But Blondie would be either held back by her or she would insist on coming too."

"Yeah no. He is his own man."

Oh, to be young again. Arguing about a boy, uncaring about the threat of the Grimm. All the better to keep them away if the terror of these beasts did not fetter the next generation.

The colossal blonde spoke up. "A good morning to you!"

The girls turned to him.

"Buh!" the little guy spoke.

And that was it. They were immediately on him, cooing at his chubby cheeks and tiny fingers. Yes, even the cool girl.

'_So much for appearances._'

Finally, the bunny girl noticed the man attached to the toddler and backed up, blushing profusely.

'_Oh, she is cute. Perhaps I should introduce her to my son, if they don't know each other already.'_

He had the sudden feeling that he was forgetting something.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she blurted out in a cute, endearing accent. "Is he yours, perchance?"

The tower of smiles and sunshine laughed, the toddler hopping up and down a bit by the movement. "In a sense, yes! He is my grandson." He then took the little guy's arm and made a waving motion.

"Adrian says hello."

Squeals abound, the usual reaction to the little guy. Now that he had their attention, however…

"I'm sorry, Sir," the faunus spoke again. "Are you here on business?"

"Eh, so-so." He laughed again. "Well, not really. Just here to visit someone."

The cool girl now looked up to him, slightly pulling down her shades. "Grandfather, huh? Sir, you age like fine wine," she uttered in a respectful tone.

Another laugh. This trip proved to be fun. "Thank you. Though keep the flirting somewhere else. I'm a married man."

She smiled at that. "You got it, Sir."

Now for the question he wanted to ask. "Do you perhaps know a Jaune Arc?"

Both of them seemed to freeze. Not a good sign, really. What did he do? Or rather, was he still alive? A dark feeling pooled in the father's gut.

"Yes we do." Phew! So he is alive still. "Do you know him?"

A grin spread on the man's face. "Know him? I raised him."

Now sitting straight up in his harness, Adrian cutely looked at the now bewildered looking girls.

His grandfather, a father of eight, an Arc stood before them, proud and tall.

"I am Johnathan Sol Arc. I would like to see my son, Jaune Luna Arc."

**Omake**

"Sometimes I question your mental stability, dude."

A small congregation of young men had gathered on the edge of the cliffs to Emerald Forest. Officially, they were conducting ballistic experiments to initiate aggression drawing tactics against Grimm. Factually, they were hurling rotten produce at Grimm using a makeshift catapult for shits and giggles. Any Grimm drawn to that would be met with fierce retribution of no less than four huntsmen.

Brawnz Ni had taken a liking to the leader of Team JNPR, as he just kept going, no matter what knocked him down. Vacuans could respect that unshaking resolve.

Shame that some others couldn't. It had been a few days after the forming of the 'Honorguard', a group of people that really wanted to give the elitist shitheads among them the middle finger by supporting a forger. They were here to learn how to fight monsters, dammit, not how to be some fancy pants big shot of some company!

Roy tended to rein his more rambunctious leader in whenever his affectionate noogies started to border on physical violence. Despite this, even he was rather enjoying that inane plan of his. How it developed from hurling produce to an official exercise in strategy could be attributed to the blonde boy wonder who had been dragged along by Nolan. The man wielding a fancy cattle prod had dragged Jaune along to keep him the hell away from May, who had started making doe eyes at him.

To the three boys, this was incredibly weird. It was like seeing their sister falling for a guy everyone thought harmless but was actually running a mafia!

Okay, that comparison was hyperbole, but still!

The whole exercise, now sanctioned and coordinated by a surprisingly chill and hilarious Professor Port, had gone rather well. Neither BRN nor Jaune had expected the braggardly sounding man to be this good in teaching by practice? And if that was the case, why in the fuck did no one accomodate him?! They would learn so many times better facing the Grimm the man constantly talked about eye-to-eye!

So yeah, it was not only amazing, but also educational, as they learned about behavior of Grimm and how Elder Grimm in particular could become intelligent enough to formulate their own strategies.

Then Jaune missed one time too many with their crude catapult and started cursing violently.

"Mr Arc," Port mediated. "Just so you know, Grimm reproduce asexually and would most definitely not be able to be used as a 'fleshlight' for your 'appendage' to rest in." The words sounded alien as the portly Professor said them, even to him.

/-/

Odd. How odd.

The light-havers seemed to like uselessly attacking the Mindless. They laughed at the Mindless as they threw their things with a large tree-like thing.

Ursa Major was curious. It went from the smelling woods to the woods of dying Mindless to see more, to learn more. It had gained a mind as reward for living long enough. Ursa Major wanted to use the mind.

The light-haver at the tree-like thing had started to yell when his useless attacks started to miss. Ursa Major saw how the thing shook and a part of it started to be loose. Odd light-haver. This one had a very bright light, though not the same one the light-haver with the eyes had. Eyes full of harmful light, enough to make even Mindless scared if the light ever came to the surface.

The light-haver at the tree-like thing had an odd light. So bright, but not harmful. He smelled of anger and the words he used were not familiar to Ursa Major.

What was a fleshlight? And what was this 'cock'?

Curious. How curious.

Ursa Major went away. It wanted to learn more. And to learn more, it had to survive.

The light-haver with the mustache was a menace to Mindless and Elders. He was like an Elder to the light-havers. Ursa Major knew that this one would kill it if he saw it.

But what was this thing the younger light-haver spoke of?

Curious. How curious.


	9. Chapter 9: The dad is here

**Hiho!**

**I am having Velvet channel youtuber TearOfGrace whenever she is relaxed or angry, hence the accent change you observed.**

**This chapter things are gonna get unveiled and plot points set up!**

**Shit's gonna get real in the future!**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 9: The dad is here

"Faster, Cardin! This isn't enough!"

"I'm trying, okay?! This is my first time!"

The former bully and victim stood together in the communal kitchen, working on a chocolate mousse cake for Velvet. The tall ginger had, much to his dismay, found out about a peculiarity in faunus biology and was now frantically working to make amends.

The work was split evenly and according to skill level. Jaune was working on the mousse, making it creamy and like biting on air-filled chocolate.

Which was basically what mousse was.

Cardin was working on the frame to give the mousse an edible container, so to speak. The cake was supposed to not be visibly mousse cake, making the creamy filling a surprise. Essentially, he was mixing the things provided by the resident master chef and mixing them together, forming and beating it all together with his whisk for dear life.

"Oh, wow. What have I stumbled into?"

Scarlet David, gunner of Team SSSN, made his presence known. The redhead pirate felt like making some rounds throughout Beacon this morning. How fortunate for him to encounter the blonde crush of what felt like half the damn academy on his trip with no destination.

Jaune was Scarlet's crush, too. The damn dance had showed off some fine legs and a toned physique. It was noteworthy in and of itself and caught the attention of quite a few girls and boys.

Some of them were actually looking down on the knight for showing up in a dress. Philistines. They could not appreciate someone who could pull off a dress better than some women did.

Also some of the dance moves showed off quite a nice butt, and if word through the grapevine was true, then the belts on the blonde heartthrob weren't just for show.

Those were some pretty good reasons for Scarlet to like Jaune. Even better was the fact that staying near the man just felt so...homely.

"Hey, Scarlet. We're baking mousse cake for Velvet. Could you be so nice and preheat the oven? 175 Celsius, if you would?"

Scarlet obliged, happy to help and liking any reason to stay with the blonde. It felt great just being around him, sensing him exude a happy atmosphere.

"So, what's the occasion, guys?" The pirate had grown curious. No one was out at the ungodly time of 9 in the morning to bake cake without good reason.

The two bakers stiffened at that. Seemed to be something juicy there.

"I screwed up," admitted the mace wielder. "And now I am baking a 'I am sorry' cake."

"Your girlfriend?"

Now there was a sharp inhale from the both of them. "No," Cardin stated flatly and left it at that.

Whatever it was, it seemed to be extremely juicy and awkward. So Scarlet dropped it and moved on to a better subject.

"Say, Jaune. Do you have someone you like?"

Another pause. Cardin looked at him and gestured him frantically to retract the question. The blonde knight, however, was contemplating.

That was gonna be interesting. Who is the fiercest competition?

"No one right now, specifically," he drawled out, seemingly uncertain of his own answer.

No_ one_. That had potential. That insinuated something.

"No one?" the redhead inquired. "No girl or boy?" Scarlet secretly hoped for something.

"No girl of boy right now, no."

"Hold on," Cardin piped up. "Girl _or_ boy?"

Now the blonde seemed a little bashful, scratching his cheek and looking away.

"Well I like beautiful people."

Beautiful _people._ That meant so very much. It meant that Scarlet stood a real chance. It meant that the surprisingly smitten Neptune had a chance. It meant that he could have a potential winggirl in the not-so-covert pervert Blake Belladonna.

It meant the potential to a great future.

"Wow. Seems like you have options, huh?" Scarlet tried to tease, but was somehow undermined by the blush he sported now, thinking of some steamy things that would make teenage girls drool.

"I suppose so. It has been that way ever since I got interested in people that way."

Not like people were interested so far, was left unspoken. Scarlet knew by instinct what the knight must feel this very moment. All of his admirers had been forced to covert operations by the Invincible Girl and her teammate of all people. She had made them all suffer just because she couldn't spit it the fuck out.

Well no more! Now Scarlet could do this!

He laid a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Don't put yourself down. I bet someone has it in for you badly." '_3 guys and 15 girls, by my count._'

The object of his affections let out an amused snort. "Thanks, Scarlet. Say, did you see the recent episode of 'Plays with chairs'?"

"Oh hell yeah. The girl just went nuts! I loved the part where her _entire character was ruined_." Scarlet did not like that part, even if the long awaited standoff between two old friends came true.

"So," Cardin spoke up. "I guess you can rate everyone around you on hotness without bias?"

Jaune looked at him like he grew a second head. "Yeah? But why would I do that?"

"Dunno," the tall ginger shrugged. "For fun?"

The blonde deadpanned at him. "Alright then." He pointed at the mace wielder. "Four."

Cardin acted offended, complete with the shocked hand on his chest and audible gasp. "How could you!" He was a surprisingly good actor. "I thought we were special!"

Jaune giggled and played along. "I swear!" He suddenly sounded like some surly husband who was sitting at home drinking beer all day. "I didn't mean it!"

"I won't hesitate, bitch!" Cardin yelled with all the acting talent he could muster and flung some bits of mousse chocolate at Jaune. They couldn't bear it anymore and burst out laughing.

"What was that?" Scarlet wanted to know between laughs.

"I dunno!" Cardin was giggling like an idiot. "I just thought it would be funny."

"Well, A plus on the..."

Jaune suddenly stiffened, and not in the fun way. He stood ramrod straight and shook a little.

"Something up?" Cardin looked at his former victim, real worry on his face.

"Someone is here," was the reply, a horrified whisper. "Someone is coming for me."

/-/

Johnathan was having the time of his life entertaining the two young beauties with stories of Jaune's youth as they made their way to his son's room. He had found out that the two indeed knew the wayward son and were even friends with him. Perhaps wishing to be more? Johnathan certainly hoped so. His wife would love an army of grandkids.

And who better to provide them than a bunny faunus and their fabled fertility. Combined with Arc genes, there would be a small army of kids in basically no time.

"They were constantly bugging him. Following him throughout the house. Vert even ambushed him by waiting in the closet for three hours! Bake a damn cherry tart one time and you got three older sisters on your ass!" he laughed, reminiscing about the time when Jaune tried a new recipe. It was so good that his sisters were pestering him to do it again for weeks on end, causing their mother to put a moratorium on the whole thing.

"About that," the shaded girl, Coco, spoke up. "Is it true what he told us? Seven sisters?"

"That's right! Me and Mama Arc were busy!" He loved his wife. Perhaps too much, if his colleagues were to be believed.

"Damn," she whispered under her breath." That is pretty awesome."

"Erm, Mister Arc?" The bunny, Velvet, piped up. She was so adorably shy that he silently hoped for his grandson to ask her out.

"Don't 'Mister Arc' me, girlie," he answered jovially. "Just call me Johnathan."

"Why do you want to visit Jaune? Is he in trouble?"

He noticed Coco looking towards him in what he presumed to be worry. It was hard to tell with the shades on.

Was his son in trouble? Well he did take the family heirloom and ran off to Beacon with no training and no aura, perhaps with forged transcripts, and then did not bother to call his family back who were worried sick. The twins nearly lost it a month ago and tried to have resident tomboy Vert play and dress up as Jaune, only to play a prank on her for old time's sake, involving a water balloon filled with paint and a magnet alongside some clippers.

They were grounded for three weeks and Vert became paranoid around the color yellow.

Johnathan had managed to convince his wife not to come along for the visit, if only because she would try and abduct him back home. If his boy wasn't expelled or not even admitted to Beacon in the first place, it would be easy to take him home.

He would have to be ensured that his family did not hate him or was disappointed. Poor Arturia would not be able to stomach her baby boy's crestfallen expression. She never could. There was a reason why the school Jaune visited up until three years ago closed down. Her fury was terrible to behold.

It was also really hot.

"Um, Johnathan?"

"Buh?"

Great, now he made two – or was it three? - people worried. "No reason, actually. I just wanted to see him again."

"Does he not call?" Coco seemed even more worried, if only judging by her voice.

Damn shades.

"No, he doesn't," Papa Arc admitted. "Though that's probably because he is worried we are angry with him."

"Why would you be angry?"

Oh boy.

"He just took off in the middle of the night, leaving only a letter behind." Johnathan confided, careful not to tell too much. There was no telling how they would react to his apparent forgery. Either way or another, his son would be welcomed back home no matter what!

The two girl looked at each other, silently communicating. Or whatever counted as that.

Seriously, who wore shades in the middle of a well-lit building?

"We are here!" Velvet quickly deflected whatever else would be cropping up in favor of the opened door in front of them. Inside a bunch of voices could be heard, stricken up in an argument.

"He still isn't back!"

"Easy now. He is his own man, you know?"

Someone was worried. It warmed the father's heart. Setting his most winning smile upon his face, Johnathan prepared to meet his son's team.

_His son's team_. As in, he was team leader. He could not be prouder right now.

"GREETERLINGS!"

Seven people jumped at the yelled greeting. Johnathan loved doing that, blindsiding people with that.

Fourteen eyes turned to look at the tower of smiles in the doorframe. They blinked, unsure what they were seeing right now.

A ginger with electric blue eyes spoke up first.

"Why do you look like fearless leader?"

That surprised him "'Fearless Leader'? Is that what you call my son?"

Johnathan did not expect the room to erupt in a variety of shouts.

"SON?!"

"JAUNE'S YOUR SON?"

He could also swear to Oum above that he saw the eyes of the tall redhead girl light up like christmas lights.

"My greetings, Mister Arc," She greeted with perfect manners, though her eyes seeming predatory. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos and I am your son's partner."

Pyrrha Nikos? As in, the Champion of Mistral? Damn, Jaune struck gold!

"Nice to meet you, girlie!" The father was incredibly happy about this turn of events and chose to pointedly ignore her expression.

"Who is this cutie here?" A blonde with quite sizable endowments, particularly for her age, walked up to him, pointing at Adrian who waved at her.

The girls in the room melted at that.

"So cuuuuute!"

So predictable. Johnathan withstood the temptation of the eyeroll of 'Of-fucking-course' and instead got to introduce his grandson.

"This is Adrian. He is My eldest daughter's son and Jaune's nephew."

Just as he spoke those words, the proud dad briefly felt like he kicked a hornets nest with the force of 'go-fuck-yourself'.

"Nephew?"

"SO CUTE!"

"D'aww, look at yooouuu!"

Everyone but the boy with the pink streak of hair crowded the toddler in the harness. Johnathan took time to assess the girls crowding him now.

There was the ginger, rather small compared to the others, but with a strength in her arms and unbound energy in her every move.

Next to her was the redhead, Pyrrha, who smiled at the tiny guy and seemed to be off to dreamland at the same time. He wondered what that meant.

The little girl with silver eyes gave him pause. '_Summer._' The kid was a spitting image of her. She was also cute as a button.

'_Must. Not. Pet._'

The blonde girl next to her reminded him of someone, though he could not put his finger on it. Whatever, her mane alone would qualify her to be a potential spouse for his son.

Seriously, was he forgetting something?

The next girl was definitely a Schnee. White hair, eyes like crystals and the crest on her clothing were the dead giveaway. Mostly the crest though. She was rather un-Schnee-like, what with cooing over Adrian.

The last girl gave Johnathan another pause. This time, though, he recognized whose daughter she was to a T.

Why would she hide her ears, though?

A well-placed clearing of the throat shook everyone out of their reverence of the little bugger.

"I am here to visit my son. Do you know where he is?"

The looks of worry again. His friends were true to him. This put a smile on the loving father's face.

"We don't know. He took off early in the morning. We don't know where and he left his scroll here," the sole boy among the others explained.

"Well he can't be in Vale, I would've seen him."

"Meaning he is still in Beacon," the Schnee concluded. "We should split up to find him. Contact each other once you found him."

"Alrighty!" The dad was now in full swing. "Which one of you are Jaune's teammates?

"Me!" the ginger piped up. The boy with the streak raised a hand. "And that's Renny! With Pyr-Pyr and Jaune-Jaune, we are team JNPR!"

Johnathan grinned. "Alright, you guys get to hold this."

'This' was a toddler named Adrian. Johnathan wanted to ignore the whispered "Soon" from Pyrrha, somewhat confused at the implications, and addressed the somewhat mopey looking other girls.

"Coco, Velvet, you team up. Blondie, puppy and Schnee form a search team also. Ribbon is with me."

'Puppy' looked confused at her nickname while 'Blondie' was cackling. Schnee seemed unamused though. "And why, pray tell, would you want to go with Blake?" The suspicion was evident in her voice.

"I know her parents." And with that, every argument against it was moot. "i want to ask her a few things." His face was stern as he explained, leaving no doubt about his seriousness.

Blake looked pensive and uncomfortable, though she realized she had no choice but to walk with the man who might as well spank her behind for making her parents worry.

/-/

Search parties formed, the students and adult spread out through the hallways. Johnathan walked alongside a sullen Blake who seemed to fully expect to be yelled at, judging by her very posture.

"Why the bow?" The experienced huntsman broke the silence.

The faunus in disguise looked pensive. "I was, and still am, fearing persecution."

"You are a huntress though. And Velvet is openly faunus."

"I am also Ex-White Fang."

Ah right, there was that thing. He remembered fully well the last time he and Ghira spoke via local CCT in Arcadia. The big panther was worried sick for his daughter, just as his fellow father was worried for his son.

"Do they know?"

"Only my team. And Jaune."

This made him grin at her. "So you trust them all."

Blake allowed herself a small smile. "I have to be able to trust my team; I know that now. And your son is very good at keeping secrets for others."

'_Don't I know it._' Jaune kept shut about his mom's secret project for the longest damn time and she herself did not budge about it. A few rounds on the 'Whirlygig', as he christened a special tongue technique, managed to loosen _her _tongue.

They were writing a book under pseudonyms. Jaune with worldbuilding and some characters, Arturia with other characters and … racy scenes.

His son flipped when he found out that his mom couldn't keep quiet. It was supposed to be their secret project together.

A project that gave the family a pool. All was forgiven from that point on.

"How do you know my father?"

"We served together during the Faunus Revolution."

Blake's eyes whipped up to him, sparkling slightly. "Yes," Johnathan laughed. "We fought side by side against those idiots under Lagune, together with none other than Ashura Khan and the Golden Lion."

The mention of the 'King of the Jungle' and the Golden Lion made the cat's breath hitch. She was walking next to the man who fought with faunus legends at his side.

"Well, I was a little green back then. Your father busted me out from being bullied by other faunus more than once because they were more sensitive than nowadays and I was rather straightfoward with whatever I said." The veteran smiled at those memories. Those were bloody days, lightened up by camaraderie and the presence of family.

"You knew the Golden Lion? The vanquisher of the Skinner Guard?"

Johnathan grimaced at the last name. There were racists, and then there were some real nutjobs. His face lightened up straight away.

"I did, indeed." Grinning mischievously, he let a secret out. "Though I used to call him dad."

Blake was shivering while looking at him. "The Golden Lion was your father?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Eeyup! His name was Julius Magnus Arc and he married a human, hence why I am one."

Ribbon seemed to shut down at that. "Buh … whuh?"

"Why that is, you ask? Well, the chances of a mixed couple having a faunus baby is higher if the mother is one."

"Jaune's grandfather is the Golden Lion," she whispered.

And then Johnathan saw. He saw the daughter of his friend and brother-in-arms change expression. She seemed hungry now, needy, wanting to find Jaune at all costs. She also looked like she wanted to ride him throughout the night into next morning and have him give her babies.

Yeah, he was spitballing here. So what?

'_Well, well well, Ghira, old friend. Looks like I will be able to call you brother-in law soon._'

**Omake**

"Desert Storm, what's the status?"

"Intel from Funky Feline confirmed. Atlesian team en route to General Ironwood's position."

"Blade Dancer, reporting. Can I just say that I love everything about this?"

"Confirmed, Gwe-Blade Dancer. This is the best decision we ever made."

"Galaxy Bolt in position, requesting ETA."

"Neb, why did you not go with Galaxy Brain as your callsign?"

"Dew, you know how much of a dum-dum Neb can be."

"Desert Storm and Duneblaze, return to callsigns!"

"What about, um, 'Friend Shape'? What was Penny's callsign again?"

"Friend Shaped, yes. Also, ETA when? Where are these Atlas asses?"

"Friend Shaped intercepted comms. ETA ten seconds, Galaxy Bolt."

"Good. Me and Pancake Valkyrie are in position."

"I love you guys."

/-/

Their little operation was a resounding success.

Team NDGO had learned, thanks to Penny, that a particularly vocal opposition against having Jaune stay at the academy was planning to rat him out. Other students would not stand for such uncamaradial behavior and ceased cooperation with them. The argument that the academies were for the best of the best had been rebuked ever since the great debate three days before. All Coco Adel had to ddo was point at team CRDL, who accepted the jab as gracefully as they could.

Sky squawked angrily and Cardin grimaced, but otherwise they nodded in agreement.

The other argument was that he was behind them all, which didn't quite work either. While technically true, at least Jaune was trying to catch up, unlike people who could very well be called frauds as they cowered behind stolen reputation. The blonde instead wanted to grow into the proverbial coat he stole, which was acknowledged by the majority of the people attending the Vytal festival from the academies.

The girls from NDGO had great fun carrying out their interception mission. Who knew that the technical issues delaying the beginning of the festival would result in bonds of friendship forged by the smallest things.

Well, the issue with forged transcripts wasn't small, but they would let it slide as long as Jaune was at least trying to measure up. And hey, if they didn't find out and accept it, who knew if things would have gotten this interesting!

Nora was hauling the gaggle of tied-up Atlesians back to their dorms' general direction.

"See you guys later!" she yelled back at the girls from Shade.

"You bet, Nora!" replied Octavia with a smile, ignoring the grumbles.

"You won't be getting away with this for long," snarled one of the students. "The fraud you're protecting will be exposed sooner or later; the latest in the tournament! Everyone will see just how weak he is!"

Nora just rolled her eyes. "Well you obviously don't know our fearless leader. There isn't just brawn with him, he's got brains! He'll outsmart you faster than you can punch!"

"We'll see about that," was the grumbled reply as the Valkyrie hauled them off, humming a whimsical tune.


	10. Chapter 10: Little shit

**My greetings!**

**Apologies for the late chapter, but I had to struggle with a depressive bout today.**

**And also pondering dropping out of university.**

**Good thing my family supports me near unconditionally, otherwise I would have cracked a long time ago.**

**I find writing to be a great tool for relaxation and a perfect weapon against depression.**

**I love this hobby.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 10: Little shit

Blake was struggling hard right now to keep up with this amount of fresh information.

There was just so much to unpack there! Not only did her and Jaune's fathers know each other, but the target of her affections was also descended from the Golden Lion himself?

If the situation had presented itself on its own, Blake would have had no problems to just charge off to where ever the knight could be. Unfortunately, she felt that her potential father-in-law was also pissed in Ghira's stead for her running away.

Which would lead to a spanking; the kind unruly children would get. The humiliating kind.

The not fun kind.

Or so she feared. Johnathan only mentioned that he knew her father. The question now was why he did so.

"I'm guessing that you fear a telling off from me in your parent's stead," the giant of a man piped up, breaking the silence. "Don't fear."

That made Blake skeptical. "Why? They have every right to be angry."

"Yes, they do. But I do not." His face turned serious. "Simply because I don't know you personally and I don't know your reasons for joining the White Fang. Those would be your own."

Blake breathed a sigh of relief. This was a good thing. If anybody would be allowed to have her ass, it would be…

No, no, no. Shelving it for later.

"You should still call them." Johnathan turned to her, face a grim expression, yet full of worry. "Oum knows my son is guilty of that, too. We were all worried sick."

The black cat, somehow inspired by this line of thinking to divert the attention from her to someone else for now, wanted to bring up a topic long discussed within the chatroom of 'Arc Legion'. Make no mistake, she would be phoning her parents.

Sometime.

Just not now.

Maybe with encouragement.

"About that." Blake set the query in motion. "Why didn't you train him?"

Johnathan whipped around to face her. Instead of anger or frustration, she saw surprise. Which in turn surprised her.

"You know," he whispered after a brief silence. "You know about the transcripts."

"We do. The school knows thanks to a leak." Said leak was promptly expelled for leaking sensitive information, jeopardizing school security and attempt to incite wide-spread negativity within Beacon. "Jaune doesn't know that we know."

"And what do you have to say to that?"

"We don't care." A sincere answer from someone who had no business judging him like that.

"You..." He laughed. A mighty bellow from the gut. Relief showed on the PatriArc's face. "That's good. That's great! That's..." He turned serious again. "Does he know?"

"What du you mean?"

"That you know."

"He doesn't. And we don't want to tell him that we know."

"Why are you doing that?"

Blake was flustered by this, if only briefly. "If he feels ready, feels like he can trust us with this, he should say it by himself." That was the reasoning everyone agreed on. No one liked the thought of their favorite knight beating himself up over this. It might as well be the reason why he kept it secret from most of his friends.

He feared being shunned for it. They really were not that different. The former terrorist and the faker.

A small fanfare chimed. It was the sign.

The legion beckoned.

Blake opened her scroll to find a picture of Scarlet from Team SSSN with Jaune standing in a kitchen baking cake, grinning in the camera. In the background was Cardin, going nuts over an incredibly tasty looking mousse cake.

Yang named the redheaded male 'Butt Pirate' for a reason.

It was something that got a laugh from everyone; a rarity for the blonde puntress.

She had been so damn happy about it.

Back to the matter at hand. They had a lead now. Blake turned to her potential father-in-law.

"He's in one of the kitchens, probably the one closest to his dorm."

The vision of what Jaune would be given a few years of time grinned at that.

"Very well; lead the way."

/-/

In her career as a fighter in the arena, Pyrrha had to hold quite a few babies. They were usually given to her either by ecstatic parents or her agent who wanted to bolster her image even more for increased exposure and fame.

The experience was so very lacking in wonder. It could have been great, were it not for hundreds of shrieking fans, which helped to agitate the babies, turning them into crying messes.

Say what you will about Pyrrha Nikos, but she most certainly had _not_ some magical ability to calm every baby she holds!

Adrian was different. The little bugger was given to her to accompany her, out of trust in her beloved's team.

Even better, the guy was Jaune's _nephew_! She wondered if Jaune, seeing her in her splendor, caring for his adorable nephew, he would only hold back until nightfall. Then he would tear off his clothes and hers and _claim _her, siring the first of their many children.

Well that took a non-PG direction. Back on track.

Adrian babbled in his cutesy way all the way to the kitchens. Nora had the presence of mind to suggest that Jaune had gone to make breakfast. The bubbly bomber hoped for pancakes.

Because _of course she would._ Seriously, all it would take for Jaune and/or Ren to seduce her would be dumping a jar of syrup over their heads. Syrup Pyrrha would gladly lick off her leader's abs.

Where was she going with this?

Oh, right. Cutie in her arms, father-in-law hopefully impressed and looking for Jaune to flaunt her motherly skills.

A well-known fanfare chimed, mirrored twice.

"Oh, an update!" Nora fished the scroll out of her pocket, looking giddy. Her turquoise eyes lit up immediately. "Hell yeah! My hunch was right!"

Pyrrha grinned at that. "Well done, Nora!" Her attention shifted to the bundle of joy in her arms, who looked quite uncaring about everything, much more interested in shoving his hand into his gullet instead.

"Do you hear this, Adrian?" She went full babyspeak on the nephew of her love. "We get to see your uncle Jaune soon! Are you excited to see Uncle Jaune?"

Adrian hopped up and down in her arms upon hearing the name. "Unca Jauney, Mbaba!"

'_So precious!_'

Their ultimate destination was designated by Cardin hastily leaving a room, holding a delicious looking chocolate cake.

'_Definitely made by Jaune. Ooh, I hope he will make me one on my birthday!_'

Skipping through the door, she merrily announced: "Hello, Uncle Jaune!"

"Unca Jauney, Mbaba!"

The knight had been merrily chatting with Scarlet up to that point; the chatter apparently over new fighting styles that could be suitable for him. However, once he heard the two voices calling out to him, he regarded his team with surprise.

"Pyrrha? Guys?" Upon noticing the fourth person, currently waving at him with both his hands, his expression morphed into one of terror.

"Adrian?!" One powerwalk forward and he stood before his nephew, disbelief and slowly mounting dread showing in his features. "What?! How?! Who?!"

Nora giggled at that, seemingly mistaking her leader's emotions as temporary hysterics. "Oh Fearless Leader, relax! He didn't come alone!" She skipped forward to poke him in the cheek, making the toddler giggle. "Your dad is here too!"

And just like that, Jaune seemed to crumple, fall apart before their very eyes.

"Dad is here?" It was a whisper, one mere whisper, but it was enough.

Pyrrha realized that this family reunion would be quite harsh on Jaune.

"My son! You in here?"

Ah, damn it.

A blonde vision of what was to to come barreled into the room with haste. Johnathan's timing could not have been better. Or worse, depending on perspective.

Her beloved froze like a deer in the headlights, mirroring his similarly stunned father. Pyrrha took the time to compare the two. Jaune had a boyish charm on him, endearing him to her even without speaking at first. His father, in comparison, was more grizzled and looked more mature. Perhaps it was the beard.

'_Note to self, throw out Jaune's razors._'

Finally, the PatriArc straightened out his posture, cleared his throat and spke in a serious voice that booked no backtalk.

"Would you all please leave the room? I need to talk with my son."

/-/

This was a nightmare, Jaune had decided. He would soon wake up and this whole thing would have never happened.

What would his father say to him? He ran away from home to become a huntsman; untrained and idealistic. He was such a disappointment to his ancestors.

Jaune had stolen the family weapon, a fabled weapon wielded by Julius Magnus Arc, the Golden Lion, shielding many a faunus refugee from the fury of the bigoted.

Crocea Mors was fielded by Scipio Ruptor Arc, the Great Breaker, who led a fierce charge against Mantle during the great war and as the first one to do so married a faunus woman.

Then there was Guillaume Furorius Arc, the Stormbringer. According to family legend, he was a teddy bear surrounded by his family and turned into a horrifying beast on the battlefield, terrifying friend and foe alike.

Could Jaune ever hope to measure up to such a legacy? To the legacy of the fabled Joanna Arc, the Blazing Maiden?

Beacon had broken some of his idealism. Becoming a hero to live up to a legacy had proven so very difficult. Far too difficult for him alone to best the challenges before him.

Jaune felt that he failed his ancestors, his family, himself.

"Son."

His father's voice shook him out of his thoughts. Unbeknownst to him, Teams RWBY, NPR and CV alongside Scarlet were eavesdropping on the conversation, Adrian still seated in Pyrrha's arms, not having the foggiest as to why everyone was behaving like this.

"How is Beacon treating you?"

What?

Is this a joke? Some smalltalk? Johnathan Arc was not a man for smalltalk during a serious conversation! Still, his son decided to roll with it.

"It's good. Harder than I thought, but that was obvious, really."

"Hm."

Gaaaah, this was killing him!

"So you met my team? I like to think I got really lucky with all of them."

"Quite."

Oh for heaven's sake!

"Son. About you running away."

Oh boy, here it comes.

"You made your mother and sisters worry, young man. You didn't even call."

"I thought you would be mad at me. For, well, everything you just named."

"We were angry, yes. But we were also incredibly worried."

Huh?

"We were worried, because we thought we failed." Johnathan looking him square in the eye, remorse in his gaze. "We thought we failed as parents, because we ignored your wishes. We were scared, Jaune."

Johnathan stepped closer to his son, who didn't move an inch, dazed at the admission. "I lost so many of my comrades during the revolution. Our ancestors tended to die on the battlefield, leaving behind their loved ones. I didn't want that fate for you, my son. Not for any of my children."

Jaune was drawn into a hug by his father. "I am sorry, my son. I shouldn't have tried to shelter you. I," he hesitated. "I feared that you resented me."

"No, dad." The wayward son finally spoke. "I can't resent you for that. I never did."

Outside of the room, the friends of the blonde knight were satisfied with the outcome of the talk, withdrawing sneakily.

Up until Adrian spoke up.

"Mbaba!"

"He keeps saying that," noted Ren. "What does it mean?"

"Is it code?" chimed in Nora. "Tell us your secrets, Jaune-Jaune's nephew."

"That's his nephew?!" Scarlet was floored by that. "Well, damn. Cute little bugger, isn't he?"

Just as he tried cooing over the child alongside RWBY, Velvet and Coco, Pyrrha lashed out, snarling "MINE."

"Shit in me knickers, ya cunt! Easy on the fooking bite, ya rabid bitch!"

"Yeesh, language, Bun-Bun!" warned Coco. "Not in front of the kid!"

"Oh, it is okay," cooed Yang. "The little guy didn't understand you anyway. Isn't that right?"

"Shit!"

Everyone paled.

"Shit!" Adrian giggled, applauding.

Now they were panicking.

"Get him to stop!" Weiss demanded, tearing up a bit. She did not want Jaune angry at her.

"No, little guy! Bad word!"

"Shit!"

"No!" yelled Ruby. "You are being naughty! Stop being naughty!"

"Shit!"

"He doesn't stop!" Scarlet was hysterical.

Blake then had an idea. An idea so outlandish, so ridiculous, so utterly insane that it could work.

She presented her ears to the toddler, wiggling them. The excitable child lunged forward, capturing the kitty ears in his grabby hands.

Velvet looked at her in worry as Coco piped up. "Erm, aren't ears a 'nice' zone for faunus?"

"Not like this," the cat whimpered. Right now, she couldn't care less about presenting her faunus heritage to them all. If Jaune's secret was out and most, if not all, accepted or at least tolerated him either way, then she could be brave enough to expose her ears.

And brave enough to call her parents?

One step at a time.

"Ow, ow, ow!" She winced with the pulling. "Yes, nice kitty ears. Nice kitty ears- ouch!"

Yang, Ruby and Weiss looked at their teammate and ally in their war of love in worry. She seemed in incredible pain, yet powered through for the sake of getting Adrian to stop saying profanity.

The others who didn't know of Blake's secret were surprised. Then again she did religiously consume fish...

It seemed to work. The bugger was too distracted to repeat those damnable words. Even if it came at the cost of pure pain.

Faunus appendages that were receptive for sexual arousal tended to be vulnerable to pain and resulted in the agony Blake was living through.

All just to get a toddler to forget about a bad word.

At long last, all seemed to calm down. Adrian was giggling, Blake was holding her ears which were throbbing in pain and all breathed a sigh of relief.

That was when the Arcs came back out from their talk.

"Oh, sorry for the wait!" The PatriArc scratched his head, which was apparently a trait inherited by the son. The older man stretched his arms out to Adrian, who was reluctantly parted with by a sullen looking Pyrrha.

"Now there, little guy. Did you miss your Grandpa? Did you?"

"Shit!"

Oh goodness no.

Both grown men froze upon hearing the word from the mouth of the babe. Slowly, ever so slowly, their gaze shifted to the group of increasingly nervous students.

"Dad," Jaune finally spoke. He wore a smile so fake, it barely hid the terrible, terrible rage he felt upon hearing his dearest nephew utter a word that should not be learned at this age.

"You may leave them to me."

They wanted to run. They wanted to scream. More than a few wanted to point to Velvet. Velvet just wanted to hide.

Ultimately, all of them went into the kitchen, watched by a grim looking grandfather and a very angry uncle.

/-/

Neptune had a good morning jog today.

He had to stay in form somehow. The ladies appreciated that, seeing him fit, sometimes his face still glistening with sweat.

Nowadays, his attention was solely on a certain white knight. The guy proved to be a true bro when he told him to grow some courage and admit to his weakness in front of a pretty girl.

Shame the relationship didn't last due to Neptune not understanding what 'being in a relationship' meant at the time, leaving him to being busted while flirting with Team NDGO.

After that mild debacle, he befriended the lovable knight and grew to have a crush on him. The guy was incredibly helpful, did not begrudge him for his phobia of water and even offered to help him overcome his greatest weakness.

It was why he liked him so damn much. Despite suffering through a rather creative punishment that involved bacon and a frying pan.

That was him minus one shirt, lost to grease and flames.

Neptune would need to come up with a strategy, though. Flirting would not work; the guy was a bit too dense to realize when he was flirted with. Perhaps Sun could offer some help and insight. The blue-haired boy would have asked Scarlet, but the guy had his own crush on the blonde outside their team.

Sun it was.

As Neptune opened the door, he came across a rather unusual sight.

Sun was laying on his side, naked save for the bedsheet to keep him modest. He was lovingly caressing…

a loaf of banana bread?

The monkey king finally noticed the stunned Sea King.

"Do you mind?"

Neptune shut the door.

**Omake**

"So," began the angry uncle. "Explain."

The congregation of students swallowed hard. Yang spoke up, fighting her instinctual fear when faced with a usually mellow guy suddenly looking like thunder and fury. "We did try to get him to stop-"

"Where did he learn that word?"

The ones present were quite impressed with how commanding he sounded. Now if only he could translate the kind of confidence it took to face them down like this into everyday behavior.

'_Daddy._'

Some for less than safe-for-work reasons.

Finally Velvet gathered her courage and confessed everything. How she wanted to play with Adrian, but ended up getting almost bitten by Pyrrha with the bunny having a fit.

Jaune nodded along with the explanation...

and laid down the law.

/-/

Glynda Goodwitch, someplace else, felt odd all of a sudden.

She felt like someone was disciplining students in her stead.

She then questioned why she could pinpoint the feeling and wondered about her eventual vacation.

Why? Well because she deserved one!

And you bet your ass she is gonna get one, 'cause if she doesn't, Ozpin is gonna have to learn to fly.


	11. Chapter 11: outing with friends

**Eyyyyy.**

**I am currently pondering to whom Jaune should lose his virginity.**

**Any who want to see this fic earn it's rating, go and vote in the reviews!**

**It would not necessarily change the endgame, though.**

**What the endgame is?**

**Just wait and see.**

**On a different note, I feel like fucking around and writing a special oneshot and a drunken marriage fic. Let me know about those as well!**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 11: outing with friends

Reese was perusing her beloved hoverboard to traverse the hallways of Beacon once more. She was bored as hell, as she barely had anything to do this day.

A thought came to her. She was the only one with a hoverboard, the only huntress whose weapon doubles as a vehicle. The hallways were hers, the skies of Beacon were hers and Jaune would soon be hers!

She was a queen to be!

She could picture it already. Inviting him onto a trip over the ground, tasting the speed, the exhilaration together. Getting hot and bothered on adrenaline, they then would find themselves in a nice, quiet location where they could make out and whisper sweet nothings…

So what if that fantasy was girly. Sue her, she was a romantic at heart.

Unexpected by the queen of speed, a cat faunus entered Beacon on her roller skates.

"Phoo-ey!" Neon Katt exclaimed. "Finally back!"

"Indeed," a stern voice behind her replied. "The checkup should have been concluded much earlier than this. It has been precisely nine days since we left Beacon."

The skater in her frilly costume twirled around to her colleague, tail twirling along. "Oh, you counted? Well duh, of course you would."

The tan-skinned student clad in a military-esque uniform chose not to dignify this with an answer, instead calculating something else.

"It has been nine days, one hour and 22 minutes since we last talked to Jaune Arc. Exchange of information is mandatory."

Neon rolled her eyes. "Always the stickler, aren't we, Ciel?"

Reese chose this to be her time and skated towards the two Atlesians.

"Hello, Ciel. Neon." The last name was spoken with anger. The two competed to be the greatest speed freaks of the four academies. Ruby Rose did not count, because of her semblance allowing her to just accelerate willy-nilly without any appliances. "Fancy meeting you here."

"It has been too long!" The cat faunus showed her anticipation. "I gotta see Jaune right now!"

"It is mandatory to speak to him."

The hoverboarder rolled her eyes at that. Ciel Soleil was the epitome of Atlesian stuffiness, clearly showcasing how much the military defined everyday life in the kingdom.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm not gonna let you pass though, Neon."

A pair of eyes lit up. "So you are out for revenge?"

"Damn right. And this time, your semblance ain't messing with me!"

Right before the showdown of the speedsters could commence, Ciel shushed them, signaling them to sharpen their ears.

"Really? What happened next?" The voice was unmistakably male, someone too old to be a student at Beacon.

The second voice, however, garnered their undivided attention.

"Nora launched the jar into the air, trying to gulp the syrup down in one like in the cartoons. It didn't work, obviously, and she ended up glazed in maple syrup and wearing the jar as a hat. She immediately crowned herself the 'Queen of all Syrup'!" Jaune laughed.

The white knight came into the entry hall of Beacon, where the others waited for him. Alongside him walked what seemed to be an older, larger, matured version of him, carrying one adorable toddler in a harness strapped to his torso. The girls wondered who this man could be.

Though if he resembled Jaune Arc so much…

"Pfhahaha!" the colossus guffawed. "So that's your everyday life, son?"

Son?

The girls immediately stood ramrod straight as they realized just who the giant was.

'_It's his dad! His dad!_' thought a giddy Neon.

'_Need to make a good impression. Who is the little guy though?_' wondered Reese.

'_My body is ready,_' determined Ciel.

The two blondes noticed the girls with a hint of surprise while the toddler was looking around. Jaune's expression lightened.

"Ciel! Neon! It has been too long, you two! Hello Reese, boarding around like usual?"

The girls smiled back at him. "Jaune Arc, it has indeed..." Ciel seemed to struggle a bit with herself. "Been very long."

The dork grinned at her. "You're improving!" He turned around. "Dad, this is Ciel Soleil. She is a bit obsessed with being on time. I'm helping her out a bit, since I felt like she was suffering from anxiety."

Ciel blushed at that and averted her gaze. She had made some improvements, true, but it would take a fair bit before she would be able to be independent of an overregulated schedule anymore.

"The faunus is Neon Katt. She is pretty agile and spunky!"

Neon preened at the praise, hoping to make herself look good in front of the father of her crush. The father, who looked like an older Jaune.

"She also can't sit still to save a life."

Neon deflated.

"The hoverboarder is Reese Chloris. She is almost always on her board, though that doesn't mean she is reckless. She is really nice and visited me when I was sick."

Cat and time nut looked at him in worry, alongside a distraught father. "You were sick?"

Jaune nervously scratched his head. "It has been quite wild the last few days here. I gotta start from the beginning. I bet these two are dying for the information."

One bout of exuberant nodding later, the knight wanted to regale them the story, as Reese put the attention elsewhere. "Who is the cutie there?"

Adrian waved cutely at them, and the attention was lost. Neon jumped around the toddler, looking at him from every angle, while Ciel admired him from afar, unsure what to say.

"This is Adrian, my nephew."

Reese now joined in with the cooing, having had enough of being shoved to the sidelines and wanting a closer look at the boy.

Up until the PatriArc coughed loudly and shook them out of their reverie.

"I haven't had the chance of introducing myself yet," he remarked. "Johnathan Arc, father of seven daughters and a son. Nice to meetcha!"

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr Arc!"

"Hey, Johnathan!"

"Hello, Mr Arc! Nice to meet you."

Greetings out of the way, the two Atlesians now crowded their favorite boy, pestering him to spill the beans. With a sigh, he began.

"So, last Thursday I got asked by a girl to be her boyfriend."

Cold. The two felt very cold all of a sudden, their faces turning to stone masks. Reese, however, scowled at that, something Johnathan took notice of. Did it not end well?

"And Saturday, she dumps me, declaring it a prank, because she wouldn't be 'seen with a loser like me'."

Cold turned to heat. Horrid rage flowed through the two, now united against a foe most vile.

Johnathan Arc wore a thunderous frown hearing this. Whoever dared doing this to his son would be having words with the Arc family.

The _entire _Arc family.

"I bounced back from that the next day though. I learned by surprise that she was in the infirmary. Fell down some stairs, apparently."

Ciel and Neon looked at each other, eyebrows cocked. They then both shrugged, not questioning it. Reese wore a rather self-satisfied smirk hearing this. Johnathan saw and couldn't help but grin.

'_Sly girl. I wonder if she had help._'

"On Monday I went shopping for clothes accompanied by Miss Goodwitch on her off day. We actually had a great time!"

The three girls wondered if that meant more competition. Glynda Goodwitch was the moderator of the forum 'Arc Legion', as it was located on Beacon servers. Port would have done it as well, had he not insisted on overloading the servers with his autobiography on day one.

The man was banned ever since.

"We met Neo, a friend of mine, at an ice-cream parlor. We then thought, the three of us, to go to a cafe, but it was closed, so we went into a bar."

Multiple eyes widened, save for Reese, who was mulling over the identity of this 'Neo'.

"They cheered me up and Neo ordered me a fruit mix. But the order got messed up, so I got something with 83% alcohol."

All of them balked.

"HOW MUCH?!" yelled the PatriArc, thinking of giving this 'Neo' a piece of his mind.

"It's okay, really. Honest mistake. The cocktail and the juice looked alike." This calmed them down slightly. "So I got drunk, was hauled back to Beacon where I was nursed from my hangover. And today I find out that my father and nephew are visiting. So yeah, I've been pretty thrown about. Speaking of Adrian, how did you get Saphron's permission?"

Johnathan grinned. "She was too busy visiting you herself, but wanted Adrian to visit his beloved uncle."

"Gaga!"

More cooing and babying ensued, with only Ciel retaining a calm demeanor. At least outside. Inside, she was a mess of emotions. Rage against the girl, worry about the dearest blonde, desire to have an 'Adrian' of her own someday.

Someday.

'_SOON._'

She shook her head.

"Jaune," she restrained herself not to use his full name, a part of breaking out of her overmilitarized lifestyle. "Where, if I may ask, is the rest of your team?"

"I had to put Velvet and Pyrrha on timeout for saying a bad word in front of Adrian." Jaune looked extremely unamused by this. "The rest are standing guard."

/-/

The united forces of Team RWBY, Team Sloth, Coco and Scarlet stood before the door to the communal kitchen, guarding their prisoners dutifully.

"This is strange," Pyrrha's voice rang from the room. "I have never been punished before."

"I really oughta control my mouth," whined a dejected Velvet.

A bit of silence inside the room and out, nobody saying a thing.

"I have been naughty."

The invincible Girl seemed to lose it.

"Yeah, well, P-Money, that's-"

"I am a naughty girl."

"Is she okay in there?"

"I have been bad."

"P-p-p-pyrrha, y-you're scaring m-me."

"I have been a naughty girl, Jaune!"

Uh oh.

"G-get me out of here!"

The guardians slowly backed off, not wanting to get anywhere near there.

"Punish me, my knight!"

"Help!"

"SEDUCE ME!"

/-/

Blissfully unaware of the proceedings within Beacon, the Arcs, together with Reese, Ciel and Neon, were sitting on a Bullhead en route to Vale. Jaune wanted to take his father to visit old friends, as he put it, and invited the girls along. They were playing with Adrian while conversing about this and that, particularly childhood stories about Jaune.

"There were those twins, Mel and Mil," the father reminisced, immediately capturing the attention of all three girls present. "These two were really protective of him. The three of them were adorable together, even partaking in a mock wedding hosted by Rouge and Indigo!"

"Daaad," whined the mentioned son. "That was ages ago!"

The father laughed at that, before calming down and looking off wistfully. "Shame they moved away, really."

Ciel breathed a sigh of relief hearing this. Where ever those childhood friends of his were, they were not within range of the knight. Meaning that she had a real chance.

Neon's eyes hardened a bit, determined now more than ever to conquer a certain someone's heart.

Reese, meanwhile, had listened impassively. What was in the past was in the past, and if those two occupied his mind still, the blonde dork did not show it.

What they didn't see was Jaune's expression morphing into a mischievous grin, secretly giving his nephew a thumbs up.

He couldn't wait to see his childhood friends again!

Though the talk about the mock ceremony bugged him a bit. Now, more than ever, with the knowledge of Blake's and Velvet's obvious affections alongside Pyrrha's smoldering crush and what seemed to be the crushes of Nebula, Dew, Octavia and Gwen as well as Ruby and Yang's.

He was left quite confused.

Did he always have that effect on women?

No, surely not. Then how, exactly, did it develop? Was it his semblance? An ancient curse? His bloodline? A strange entity from a different dimension with a magic keyboard rewriting his very fate?

Okay, yeah, Nora has been rubbing off on him.

Before he could ponder this wondrous situation any longer, the Bullhead arrived in Vale. Thanks to the newly learned technique, he was completely free of any motion sickness and didn't have to get everyone acquainted with his breakfast.

The merry group made their way through Vale up until stopping right before a particular establishment.

A nightclub. Jaune led them to a nightclub.

"Erm, son?" Arc Senior was mildly confused. "What are we doing here?"

Jaune turned to him, cheeky grin in place and replied: "Come in and see."

The girls found themselves rather agitated. Just what kind of thing was Jaune to show them? What kind of people would they get to know today?

Were they female?

Were they attractive?

Were they holding out for their blonde knight?

The doors were opened. No turning back now. Time to witness the competition.

"Jauney!"

The competition consisted of two nearly identical twins, one in red, the other in white, both having a feather adorning their heads in their respective color.

And they were hugging him rather tightly there.

"I can't believe it!" yelled Johnathan out of the blue. "Melanie, Miltia! It's me, uncle John! Remember me?"

A brief look at him was all they needed. "Uncle John!" They yelled as one.

"We missed you!" the white cooed.

"What brings you here?" the red questioned.

"And who is this little cutie?" white cooed over Adrian.

As the great Arc was regaling the two with the reason for his appearance, the three that tagged along approached Jaune from behind to ask questions.

"Who are they?" inquired a Ciel who had problems reigning in her irritation.

"Those two are Mel and Mil. My childhood friends." He answered, clueless as to what he just started.

Childhood friends.

Friends who he 'played' marriage with as a kid.

This just got a whole lot harder.

/-/

Freedom!

After Pyrrha discovered her fetish, Velvet decided to let the punishment end early. As much as she felt the guilt of teaching a toddler a bad word and as much as the thought of a disappointed Jaune terrified and disheartened her…

There was no chance in hell that she would be in the same room with Nikos while she had whatever going on.

Mentally knackered, the bunny faunus slinked back to her dorm for a bit of relaxation, only to find a Cardin Winchester standing before it, suffering a nervous breakdown.

"Okay, Cardin, you can do it! You can...just go in there, say sorry, give her...oh god….i am a fucking sex offender! Why should she accept my apology? Oh go oh fuck oh god oh fuck."

"Cardin."

The large teen jumped. Velvet could now see a small circular package in his hands.

"Velvet!" He was more nervous than her. "I found out about...what pulling your ears meant." He sounded close to a complete breakdown.

"It's okay," Velvet tried to soothe him. "You didn't know. Barely anyone does."

"I made you cake. As an apology."

Did he now?

"Jaune helped."

Good. That meant that whatever the cake was, it was going to be delicious. She gently pried the packaged cake out of his hands.

"Thank you." she made a point looking him in the eyes for this. "I forgive you."

She disappeared into the dormroom to feast like a queen on delicious chocolate mousse cake.

Outside, Cardin felt like Remnant itself just rolled off his shoulders.

"Yay," he weakly cheered, voice hoarse with nervousness.

Right before falling over like a sack of potatoes.

**Omake**

Cadet Ciel Soleil was rising at 0600 hours every day since starting at Atlas Academy and even before then.

The cadet had every last bit of her life organized down to the second. Exactly 10 minutes 32 seconds in the bathroom, 8 of them in the shower. Then one minute for dressing, three to get to the mess hall, ten at the maximum for eating, utilizing spare time - which was sparse - to look at her scroll for any additional instructions.

This routine seemed only lightly shaken up by attending the Vytal Festival in Vale as the teammate of Penny Polendina, first synthetic human capable of generating a soul and top-secret military project. Cadet Soleil was assigned as her partner in order to watch over Penny while the android was learning from the world around her.

After that, everything seemed to get out of her hands. Penny Polendina turned out to be far too curious for her own good, running off to explore more than once and even causing the partial destruction of the docks.

Ciel had been chastised at first and threatened with disciplinary work. Only the intervention of Specialist Schnee had saved her from punishment, as she brought up the inhuman stamina and superior capabilities of the VIP, not to mention the aid she provided with the interruption of a White Fang operation.

The fact that Roman Torchwick could escape via an exaggerated celebration by the VIP, which caused the specialized transport vehicle to flip and the criminal to escape without a trace, was practically swept under the rug.

This proved to be merely the start of her problems, as Beacon turned out to be full of undisciplined individuals, which only followed a loose schedule if not given one themselves - and even then!- and more often than not caused crazy things to happen.

Like the chaos that erupted when the delay of the Vytal Festival was announced.

One of the propulsors of the large arena was shot due to a sudden Nevermore attack, which caused the delay. This caused unrest in the civilian populace, particularly after the Breach, and started a brawl amongst the people with...

What was the expression? Itchy fists?

Nevertheless, the chaos could only be reined in by Beacon's very own Deputy Headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch.

The damage, however, was done.

Cadet Soleil's time table was in shambles, not helped by her excitable 'teammate' who didn't really need to sleep. Now, Ciel had to make do with awaking 5 minutes earlier, causing her to take far too long in the bathroom due to drowsiness and ending up 2 minutes later than scheduled for breakfast.

She was here for barely a week, and already Cadet Soleil felt an inkling of individuality coming through.

'_I want to go home._'


	12. Chapter 12: irrefutable offer

**Hello!**

**The poll is gonna be going on for about three more chapters, this one included. So go and vote!**

**The amount of votes so far:**

**Nora 1**

**Ruby 2**

**Blake 2**

**Pyrrha 3**

**Glynda 5**

**Neo 1**

**Velvet 1**

**Malachite twins 1**

**...well, people want to give the teach some loving, huh?**

**I should reiterate that the loss of virginity does not influence the final outcome.**

**As to who Jaune will end up with? **

**I thought I made it obvious.**

**It's also my mom's birthday today! See it as a reason to go hug your mom if you have one. She is not gonna stick around forever, you know.**

**If you don't have one, hug your dad.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 12: irrefutable offer

At 'The Club', an establishment for partying the night away, a jolly reunion of old friends took place.

Johnathan bear hugged the former crime boss Hei Xiong to near death mere seconds after he laid eyes upon him. Junior had gone legit only thanks to the seasoned huntsman and was now dabbling in legal practices that still made decent Lien. It was a large step out of the shadow of the underworld and Junior could not be happier and more thankful for it.

Well he could, if certain blondes didn't wreck his club, but that was a different ballgame.

His nieces, Melanie and Miltiades Malachite, had met their childhood friend once more, admiring the fine young man he grew into. Both secretly admitted that he looked rather handsome now, and couldn't wait to catch up.

Which led to the two of them laughing their sides off, alongside a cat faunus, a hoverboarder and a mildly amused military cadet. Adrian Cotta-Arc was napping in Miltia's lap.

"It took us way too long to finally explain to her what 'fucking' means! Midway through she asked if she was too rough with it and I nearly went hysterical."

"Oh my Oum," coughed out Neon between laughs. "You poor boy, having to give 'The Talk'. How did she not know up till then?"

"Beats me," the blonde shrugged. "I think she was just sheltered a fair bit."

Technically true.

"Say, Jaune," purred Mel. "How is it that you never come here for a dance or a drink? We see you so rarely these days." She was pouting playfully at him, causing the blonde to blush a bit.

"Erm, well, things were a bit hectic the last few days."

A wild guffaw interrupted him. Johnathan and Junior were having the time of their lives, drinking and chatting away.

"But I'm here now, aren't I? Besides, I was already thinking of inviting people here for a night out."

"Speaking of dancing!" Neon showed a sudden bout of excitement. "I heard that you went to the dance in a dress! Is that true?"

That caught the twins' intrigue. Ciel piped up as Reese was grinning at the memory of some nice legs.

"I as well have heard of that happening. I could not attend as I was busy with other matters." Namely preventing Penny from licking the power socket, as she read that it would make the electricity flow faster. It didn't, but it made her rather handsy.

Whenever Penny felt like 'mythbusting', chaos was bound to happen.

Jaune laughed a little. "Well it is true what you heard. I wore a white dress." The girls' eyes lit up, imagining him in said dress.

Huh, he made it work.

"I made a bet with my partner that I would wear one if she couldn't get a date to the dance. She didn't so I went and got changed once I found out."

Miltia spoke up in interest. "Jaune, who is your partner?" Truthfully, she was a bit worried. Thanks to Junior's information network, consisting of an incognito Neo here, she, along with Mel, were well aware of the insanity happening at Beacon, all revolving around the dearest knight. The only thing they didn't know were the names and appearances. The pint size found that those mattered little.

Either that or she was withholding.

"Her name is Pyrrha."

"As in Pyrrha Nikos?"

He nodded. "That's her."

Fuck. The Invincible Girl was quite the looker. Dazzling green eyes, shimmering red hair and a killer body were quite the combination. The twins were willing to bet dicks to asses that she was among those fighting for their oldest crush's heart.

"And she didn't have anyone for the dance?" Ciel inquired, intrigued.

"Seems like it. Something about being too intimidating to boys." '_Or just holding out for me,_' he added in his mind, now more unsure than ever about what she thought of him.

Mel and Mil, Neon and Ciel were breathing a quiet sigh of relief. It sounded like the girl still couldn't spit it out, meaning that they had a real chance. On the other hand, the four of them were rather touched at his gesture. The young Arc seemed adamant to prove that his family motto was not a hollow phrase.

"A true shame I could not be there," Ciel mused aloud.

"Heck yeah! I want a dance with you, too!" Neon added, eyes sparkling at the thought of swaying around in his arms.

"Get in line, I'm calling dibs on the next dance with him," Reese insisted, competitive as ever towards the feline.

Melanie piped up. "Well swing by whenever, Jauney." She shot him a flirty wink. "We will always welcome you."

Three girls squinted at the twin with her winning smile directed towards the dork knight.

Just as they wanted to direct their attention towards them to keep him from answering, a strong voice hollered throughout the locale.

"Son!" yelled an inebriated Johnathan. "Where is Adrian?"

Miltia smiled, rocking a soundly asleep toddler in her arms. "Here he is, uncle John." The kid could sleep like a damn log. Good for the parents; it meant far less waking up in the middle of the night to either feed him or change diapers.

"Good. We gotta leave now."

The twins were aghast by this. "But why? Could you wait for a bit?" they pleaded in chorus.

"Can't. Promised Tori not to drink. Must get away before I get hammered, get a hangover and get chewed out by her and Saphron." He lightly poked his grandson in the cheek, who was mumbling a bit. "Sorry, Junior! Another time!" he yelled over to the counter.

The man with the dark beard just smiled and nodded. "No problem, John. Come back whenever."

With practiced care, Adrian was lifted into the harness still attached to the older huntsman. As he said his goodbyes and see-yous to the twins, Jaune was silently hailed by his honorary uncle Hei, holding up a piece of paper.

"Roman wanted you to call him," the information broker whispered. "Said it was important."

/-/

Johnathan said goodbye to his son at the bullhead docks. The father promised his son a visit from mother and sisters, much to Jaune's horror. There was only so much he could take, and his overbearing mother alongside his siblings who all missed him?

It would be an avalanche of bear hugs, noogies and scolding.

"Son."

"Yes, dad?"

"I forgot."

Jaune deapanned at his old man. "You forgot?"

"When I remember, I will tell you." He was already sobering for good. Whatever the Warden of Arcadia forgot, it must have been important.

Planting one final goodbye kiss on his sleeping nephew's forehead, added by delighted squealing on Neon's part, the two Arc men bid each other farewell until next time.

Though not without making Jaune promise to call his mom and sisters. Or else.

Ciel admitted during the flight back to Beacon that she never learned how to dance and asked the wholesome crossdresser for lessons in dancing. Reese and Neon saw the transparent ploy to get closer to Jaune and attempted to muscle in on the arrangement.

It worked, perhaps too well. The knight showed them some instructional videos on his scroll and explained some of the more complicated steps bit by bit. He even offered to teach them all at the same time. They agreed, begrudgingly so, if only because then the others would not be alone with him, either.

They eventually had to part, as it was still a school day and they still had lessons to attend to.

Jaune nearly came too late to combat class, something nobody sane would risk as long as Miss Goodwitch was teaching there.

He silently filed in, hoping that the stern combat teacher would not notice his arrival in the nick of time.

She noticed. Of course she did. What was he thinking? He wasn't some secret agent, he didn't have some handy semblance that made him turn invisible or otherwise undetectable and he did not have some magical cloak that turned him invisible.

Lucky him, still, since Glynda left him be and instead started the lesson. The young man did not cause a ruckus with his arrival, after all.

The blonde knight silently skulked over to his seat next to his friend and teammate Ren, who looked at him with interest.

"So, what happened while I was away?" The team leader asked the ninja in a hushed whisper.

"Many things," was the equally quiet reply. "Pyrrha went off the handle while you were away and is now confided to our room, guarded by Nora."

Wow, okay. The time-out was harsher on her than he thought. Perhaps he should check up on her after classes were over and the call done with.

"Cardin got an apology cake to Velvet and passed out right after. His team carried him away and covered for him here."

The stress must have gotten to the tall ginger. He can be proud of himself, however, as he now truly made amends for the sins of the past.

"Neptune asked Scarlet for help regarding a certain manner. I have not seen the two since."

Spicy.

"Sounds like they are secret lovers."

Ren smiled. "It does, doesn't it." His face then turned contemplative. "Jaune?"

"Mm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing."

"I have heard Scarlet say something about your 'availability'. What was that about?"

A wince. "He really could have phrased it better. I told him that I am bisexual, 'cause it cropped up in a conversation."

Eyebrows rose up.

"I hope this isn't weird to you."

Ren shook his head smiling. "It doesn't, rest assured."

His friend and crush sighed in relief. "Thank you. I was worried about that, you know."

"Anytime."

"Mr Arc and Ms Fall, would you please get changed into combat gear?"

Crapbaskets. Cinder was a frightening opponent with her fire semblance and those wicked glass weapons. He could not hope to match her offensive powers right now, training be damned.

He could outwit her, however, as he had done in a game once before.

A short while later, the both of them stood against each other in the arena. Cinder's face held a sultry expression as she soaked in the appearance of her favored one.

"There is no shame in losing against me, Jaune," she purred, her statement showing surprising honesty. "I have trained for a long time under a grueling regiment. If you want, I could give you something as consolation."

He laughed it off, unheeding of the sudden spike in hostility against the flamestress. "That's alright, Cinder. I will try my best, anyway." Now his expression turned teasing. "Or was that you attempting to bribe me into losing?"

She laughed coyly, playing along. "Perhaps. My offer still stands, though."

Glynda had enough of the banter. "Begin!"

Jaune raised his shield and charged, his sudden bout of aggressiveness catching all spectators off guard.

Including Cinder, who barely anticipated the shield charge and dodged to the side. Jaune had himself anticipated this reaction and spun around, his sword nicking Cinder's aura.

The red temptress was surprised. To compensate for his shortcomings in terms of offense, he utilized the element of surprise and the knowledge that his enemy would know that he tended to play defensive.

Compensating for shortcomings in places by utilizing your strengths to the fullest. Was that why the knights appendage, according to Emerald's eyeballing, measured eight inches flaccid? To compensate for his lack of confidence and natural aggressiveness?

Questions for later. Right now, her blonde strategist was using the element of surprise. Throwing her off her game, confusing her.

Bold. Bold and cunning.

Yet so easily countered. She used her semblance to fling fireballs at him, keeping him at a distance and in the defensive.

Shield raised, he approached her slowly.

'_Still on the offensive? Oh my sweet knight. Save it for the bedroom._'

Then he broke out of his stance, tanking one of her fireballs to the face.

_That_ was unexpected.

Or so it would seem. Jaune Arc once more trumped himself in doing the unexpected today by employing a stratagem unheard of, yet not entirely unfamiliar in the realm of fighting.

He danced.

He swept Cinder into a brief waltz, confusing her thoroughly, right before releasing her into a spin.

And she spun, spun, spun…

Right out of bounds.

"Winner, Arc!" Miss Goodwitch sounded almost disbelieving at what she just witnessed. The class, meanwhile, was rioting with cheers for Jaune's upset victory. Some even wanted to continue the dance with him, solely for combat purposes, of course.

The teacher was having none of it. Silencing the class with a stern "Quiet!" all calmed down as the two combatants stood before her, awaiting evaluation.

"Mister Arc. While unorthodox, your strategy has netted you a victory this time. Do note that it would not work outside of tournament rules." Her expression softened a bit. "That being said, you did come quite a long way since the beginning of your time at Beacon, Mister Arc. You can be proud of yourself for that."

Rare praise, usually reserved for peerless fighters like Pyrrha. Cinder looked at Jaune from the side. He was beaming at her, giddy about the victory. He mouthed 'great fight' to her.

From anyone else, it would be a meaningless gesture, a mocking one even. From him, it meant genuine surprise at himself and happiness at coming this far.

Cinder felt warm. Warmer than usual.

"Miss Fall," Glynda continued. "You lost your concentration too easily. Remain focused, even when the unexpected is happening."

Cinder did not feel any shame in her loss. It was a clever ploy, acted out by the only one to ever best her in Remnant: The Game.

This is why she began to be truly interested in him in the first place.

"That is all. Dismissed!"

/-/

After classes, Jaune was already planning for his 'me-time' that evening, even if it was still one spar away.

Mercury Black and he, despite not being any more different, had become good friends. Merc had appreciated the honesty; he didn't have to watch out for any hidden meaning or read between the lines. It was upfront and clear, a breath of fresh air away from the business his father had conducted.

Being raised by a sociopathic assassin makes you yearn for a break at times.

The silver-haired young man's kicks had incredible force behind them, maikng Jaune wonder more than once if he had undergone some kind of specialized training or if he had them augmented in some way. It wasn't Aura, Jaune was certain. There were none of the telltale flares or sparks whenever Merc had striked.

The fact that he had guns on his legs did not help.

As he made his way to the arena, Jaune wondered, not for the first time, if Mercury could incorporate dancing moves into his fighting style to really throw off the enemy.

Then again, he would probably decline out of wariness for Emerald. The two couldn't stand each other and constantly traded barbs. The knight wasn't quite sure if that counted as sexual tension or if he just read too much into it.

Wouldn't be the first time he did that, really.

Mercury was already waiting in the arena, itching for the spar between the two. Last time they fought, Jaune had been too defensive and rigid, giving the other teen ample opportunity to wail on him until the klaxon blared. Though if his startegy had worked on Cinder, as he had caught her off guard, then it would get him at least a bit farther with Mercury instead of giving the grey-haired teen a perfect victory.

Know your enemy and know yourself. The Art of War. Jaune had been surprised when Weiss had seen him reading that book and suggested he translate some of it's teachings into the personal battles one fought on the frontlines instead of behind a desk or in field HQ.

The knight didn't think it would translate well enough to catch _Cinder_ off guard. She was a formidable opponent at Remnant: The game and overwhelming in a fight. He should thank Weiss for the advice.

'_Heh, Ad-Weiss.'_

"Heard you got the boss lady in a spar," Merc commented with an amused grin. "I won't be as easy to fool."

Jaune shook his head while snickering. "Don't let her catch you calling her 'easy'. She will end you."

A snort from the grey-hair. "Pretty sure the last one to call her that is dead."

Blonde eyebrows rose. "You're exaggerating."

"Nah, just fucking with you," Merc laughed. "They drowned, though."

Now slightly, _slightly_, unnerved, Jaune readied himself.

Mercury striked first, leaping into his attack. Jaune didn't fear a dropkick, nor did he anticipate one. His opponent would not risk a loss in balance.

And there was the thing.

Jaune had anticipated the leap and angled his shield instead of taking the kick head on, making Mercury's boot slip on the surface and leaving him open.

Jaune striked downwards, catching his enemy with the brunt of it.

Mercury was still in the game, though and, while Jaune was psyched that his countermeasure had workeed so well, was tripped up by a sweeping kick.

"Gah!"

"Always double tap," noted Merc. "Make sure your enemy doesn't get an opportunity."

The knight grumbled from his spot on the floor as Merc had already stood up. A thought crossed the blonde's mind as he saw the smirk on his friend's face.

"Mercury?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever have to kill someone?"

"Ah." Uncomfortableness showed itself. "I never told you, did I?"

Confusion. "Told me what?"

"I killed my old man."

That was a shock. Jaune had just assumed Mercury had ran away.

"The old shit stole my semblance with his right before he died." He showed annoyance now, perhaps wondering what it might have been, if it could have helped him down the line. "He made my life hell, Jaune. That you know." The blonde nodded at that, still quite angry with the tyrant.

"I ddon't regret it at all, if that's why you're asking. To me, he wasn't family or anything anymore."

"I get it." He tried to, at least. Now the knight stood back up on his feet. "But I was thinking. Someday, sometime, I will have to kill someone. It will have to be some utter scum who is more of a threat alive than dead." The clarification was important. Jaune just couldn't see himself taking a life under other circumstances.

His training partner for the day was curious. "And?"

"How do I live with it, once I did it? Is there any assassin secret?"

At that Merc had to laugh. "Just one, really. Not even a secret." He looked more serious now. "You need to close your heart to it. If you don't, it will haunt you forever. It's easier for some and harder for others, but you have to do it if you want to live with having blood on your hands."

"That was..." Jaune struggled a bit, looking for the right word. "Profound."

"You saying I can't be smart?"

"I never said that!"

"Too late." Mercury grinned at him. "Gonna kick your ass now."

/-/

It was the evening now, and Jaune was in a classroom to speak with Roman in private over the scroll, still sore all over. Jaune was well aware, thanks to Ruby, that Roman was a criminal. However, he was hellbent to 'pull a Johnathan' and help the gentleman thief go legit.

Even if Roman was about as receptive to this as a shield would be to poetry.

Sounds nice, but you get absolutely no reaction out of it.

And if you do, you are either being pranked, going insane or have a magic shield.

"So what is it you wanted to speak to me about?" The dork knight was wary of whatever it was, even if Roman proved to be quite a respectable source of information. The man did not lie to him so far.

"Straight to the chase, huh?" Roman was hamming it up once again. It was quite amusing to watch. "I am hurt. To think my young buddy would speak to me in such a manner, after not seeing me for so long!"

"It was six days ago and you told me to delete your number."

"Ah, right. Safety thing." Roman had to begrudgingly admit that he was wrong there. "Still, you could ask how my day was."

The knight could not help but roll his eyes. Roman behaved like a nagging spouse.

Then again, would that not make him the neglectful husband?

Unacceptable.

"How _was_ your week, Roman?"

"Ah, week it is! You _do_ care!" Again with the comical overacting. Perhaps Roman was a fan of James Carny?

"It was wonderful. Well, if you would define dodging the police, running from hideout to hideout and still managing to sneak in brunch every day as wonderful. Then again, it was _quite_ fun."

Jaune decided to let him ramble a bit. He had a tough week, from the sound of it. He sympathized a fair bit, the training sapping his energy and making him want to take an evening off for comics.

That was his plan for the evening and nobody could stop him!

"The highlight of the past few days was definitely punishing some half-bit punk playboy wannabe who dared to cross a treasured associate of mine. Though that is neither here nor there, is it? No, my young and treasured friend, I have a favor to ask of you."

That did not sound good. He would have rather declined, but it was a friend asking him for help; relaxing and reading comics seemed just not right to do instead.

'_Me and my bleeding heart._'"What kind?"

Roman nodded. "Good, asking first instead of rushing in! You're learning." The ginger applauded somewhat mockingly as the blonde cringed. Their first meeting was as Roman attempted to blatantly scam him at a game of poker. He was there at happenstance and was enticed by winning easy money – at the risk of losing big. An odd mixture of luck and the fact that a hidden card was peeking out of Roman's coat helped him see through the deception. The thief, ever so charming, challenged him to another game of his choosing, as an apology, but with the same stakes.

Bad choice. The game was one of Remnant and Roman ate part of his hat in pure rage. They talked afterward and Jaune complimented his style.

The gentleman thief immediately forgave him.

"I have been robbed of a priceless antique recently and would like it back."

Jaune squinted. "You? Getting robbed?"

"Well, stolen from, more accurately. And it was not me personally, of course, but rather the hired help."

Ah. That made some more sense.

"What is that antique?"

"A small coffer made of finest wood, hailing from the times of the kingdoms. The help was supposed to deliver it to one of my safehouses, but got jumped by some upstart gang." Roman made a face. "Calling themselves 'The Defiant'. How pretentious."

The dork knight was lost in thought at the story. It could very well be made up and Jaune would unwittingly be stealing the antique from someone under the pretense of reacquiring it. That or the story was indeed true and he would do a good deed.

"Do I even get help? I am not exactly good at stealth."

Roman laughed loudly. "Immediately realizing what it is about, are we? Well, Jaune, my boy, you are indeed being hired to steal it back, so to speak."

"And why me specifically?"

"Cover-up." The answer was delivered with the bluntness of Melodic Cudgel as Roman lit himself a cigar.

His new henchman deadpanned at him. "Really?"

"Hell no! I would never put such a promising young huntsman on the spot like that!"

"Uh-huh." '_Why did I agree to this again? Oh wait, I didn't yet!_'

"Oh, don't worry your dense head, my young friend. You are getting some backup after all!" What, really? "Oh yes! None other than my personal henchwoman and right hand, Neopolitan!" He imitated the hollering of a crowd. "And the famed, desired and feared bodyguards of Hei Xiong Junior himself: Melanie and Miltia Malachite!"

Jaune launched his torso forward, now aggressively protective. "If Mel and Mil are gonna be harmed..."

"There will be hell to pay," finished Torchwick, drawing on his stick of smoked death. "I am aware, kiddo. Sheesh, you sound like an older brother."

"I _am _an older brother."

"What, to them? Aren't they older?"

A sigh. "Yes. But I meant my own sisters."

"How many do you have?"

"Four younger, three older. Seven in total."

Silence. Roman seemed frozen. "What the fuck are your parents?"

"Arcs."

A guffaw. "Ha! I pity your future wife!"

Jaune grumbled. "Can we get back on track?"

"Sure, kiddo." Another draw. "The offer stands, take it or leave it, the girls are gonna start tonight either way."

The blonde's eyes narrowed at the ginger on the screen. "What do I get out of this?" If he wanted to play businessman, two could play that game. '_Make it good. Make it better than a relaxing evening._'

The gentleman was smirking. "A hefty sum of Lien. Use it to get some new threads, Oum knows you need 'em."

Jaune thought about the offer. On one hand, he could be complicit in theft. On the other he could not just let his friends from childhood and the girl who helped him overcome a vast part of his self-pity and -loathing go alone on what could be a life-threatening situation. Oum dammit, he had a debt to honor and his friends to protect. Me-Time could wait.

And hey, money was a good motivator.

"Fine. I'm in." His face was a grim mask, eyes glinting like sharpened sapphires.

Roman liked what he saw. "You won't regret it."

/-/

As school was concluded for the day, Lie Ren found himself briskly walking back to the dorm, in silent hope that his leader would be there to look after Pyrrha. Nora would definitely be there and had to be informed of the recent situation.

She would be _ecstatic_.

Pyrrha had been difficult to convince of this one. Only Nora crying about how she had always wanted a big, loving family had opened her up to the suggested notion.

Sharing Jaune.

And now, with his bisexuality confirmed, the dream was within grasp.

Opening the door, Ren found Jaune not to be in the room. Instead he beheld Pyrrha ready to jump at him, only to realize he was not their beloved leader and deflated.

She further deflated as Jaune wrote her and Nora that a situation had come up and he had to stay in Vale overnight and would be back in the morning.

They desperately hoped it was not over a woman.

Or man.

Ren could not get the message, as he was still waiting for his replacement scroll.

"Hey, Rennie," Nora greeted her oldest friend. "You seem chipper. Got some news?"

The spartan looked bewildered at first. Ren looked as neutral as on any other day.

Then he showed a satisfied smirk.

"Nora, Pyrrha," he announced, speaking slightly louder than usual. "Operation 'Juniper Berries' can commence."

The Valkyrie successfully imitated the cry of a Beringel, a foghorn, a swarm of locusts feasting on rye, a madwoman hyped up on crack and a fangirl of the Achieve Men. Ren could not fault her for her excitement.

The time was nigh for two orphans to embrace their 'Happily Ever After'.

**Omake**

Emerald Sustrai was loyal to her mistress. Cinder deserved her loyalty; she got the orphan pickpocket from the streets, gave her purpose, somewhere to belong. Emerald would do anything for her savior. Even help in the orchestration of a large-scale terrorist attack.

She didn't question the 'why', she just knew that Cinder wanted it to be done so she could search for someone called 'Amber Autumn', the Fall Maiden.

It was a shame that the plans were stagnating right now. According to rumors, some drunk broke into the arena and demolished part of the propulsion systems, causing Amity Arena to be absent and the actual festivities to be postponed.

Ah, well.

The only annoying part would be to mingle right now with those people who probably never experienced proper hardships in their life. Playing 'Buddy-Buddy' with Ruby was a chore; the little red reaper. Even if it was only for information gathering.

As she strode through the school she looked for a potential thorn in her mistress' side. Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl, unmatched in combat. According to what Emerald had heard, Nikos had easily matched an entire team of huntsmen-in-training. She was a definite threat; the complete opposite to her leader and partner.

Jaune Arc. Emerald didn't need that much time to assess the goofball blonde. Unremarkable in combat, the bottom of the proverbial barrel. He had gathere a fair amount of attention come the Beacon Dance. No one had expected him to show up in a dress, just to honor his word.

Yet he did.

There was at least one quality to him, the thief supposed. Even as she ran into him while he was carrying a few books, making him stumble.

"Argh, dangit," he grumbled as he got back up. "Oh, sorry!"

Emerald was quick to apply the mask she had crafted for Beacon alone. "No problem. You didn't see."

"Say, don't I know you from Oobleck's class?" Oh goodie, the blonde doofus wanted to chat.

"Yes, but I gotta-"

"Yeah, you were the one who made him go on a tangent about criminal history in Vale!"

Riiight. The illusionist wanted to perfect her cover, raised her hand in the class of the fast-paced professor and just said something that came to her. Namely about how corrupt business had tended to aid in causing crime in Vale years ago.

The Great War had been the time of high life for crime bosses, as it turned out.

"Ah, yeah. Well, it has always fascinated me."

"Heh, I mean..." Suddenly, the guy looked around in mischief. "Sometimes, just for fun, I thought about how to pull heists without anyone noticing."

Well, that was new. "Really?"

"Yeah, I am a bit of a fan of Grand Theft Dust. But don't tell my mom!" he added with a dorky grin.

The term wass unfamiliar to Emerald Sustrai. "Grand Theft...? What is that?"

The blonde looked surprised. "You never played?"

"I never even had a console." It was getting annoying now.

"Oh. Well, there are lots of videos about it, with storyline and everything. I could even tell you something!" He seemed either desperate for friends or just looking for an excuse to not learn.

Emerald played along, for the sake of cover. "'Kay, sure, why not?"

/-/

Emerald was having the time of her life. Who knew it was so crazy fun discussing the dirty deeds of video game characters? Hell, the game was apparently really well researched.

It hit too close to home on more than one occasion.

Anyway, the illusionist didn't expect this Jaune Arc to be so interested in crime. Well, he would obviously prefer crime solving, but the blonde got really into it.

It was contagious.

"I would probably go for the sleeping gas agent. Minimal danger for anything to go wrong, as long as the dosage is checked, and the police will get confused."

Emerald was astonished. "What about the direct approach?"

"Too risky. Things could go wrong, a hostage could become brave - I know I would try it - and then you would either have to add assault or manslaughter to your charges. I would want to be a professional, not a common thug, you know?"

Meanwhile in Vale, Roman Torchwick felt like mentoring Jaune in the ways of crime.

"Wouldn't the cams and the alarm be an issue?"

The weirdly ingenious blonde shook his head. "The hacker isn't the lynchpin. We could afford going cheap there and just work faster. Besides, the suits and the van would givve the crew an alibi."

Emerald chuckled and saw the blonde in a new light. A potential threat for an entirely different reason. "You're really into this, aren't you?"

"I always was into strategy," he chuckled and scratched his head as Jaune gave her a smile.

A sudden heat flowed into the thief's cheeks.

"By the way, thanks for putting up with me. I thought it would be interesting to you." His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh crud, I never got your name!"

Emerald blinked. "Right. I never got yours, too." She stretched out her hand, smiling genuinely this time. "Emerald Sustrai."

"Jaune Arc."

How surprising that she ended up having a good time with this delay.


	13. Chapter 13: sneaky peaky

**Hello!**

**The poll so far is as follows:**

**Pyrrha 4**

**Ruby 4**

**Glynda 10**

**Velvet 3**

**Yang 3**

**Malachite twins 3**

**Neo 6**

**Nora 3**

**Weiss 1**

**Team JNPR 1 (counts as 1 vote each for the members in the end census)**

**Raven 1**

**Blake 3**

**Emerald 1**

**Penny 1**

**The poll will go on for this chapter and the next, after that it is closed!**

**To the guest with the massive multi-segment review:**

**I have never read "Champions of Corruption", actually.**

**Also, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of the twins. Woefully underused.**

**As for Sienna?**

**She will make her appearance in this fic. Eventually.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 13: sneaky peaky

"Dun-dun-DU-du-dun, du-du-DU-DU-dun."

"Someone's having fun."

"I have to. Anything to keep my mind off the fact that we have to steal something." And not being in the dorm, watching funny videos on ScrollNet.

"We are stealing it back, though."

"Same difference."

Vale was sleeping, the sun had long gone down, yet a group of four was moving swiftly through the alleys.

Neo had found it quite difficult to spot the differences between the twins outside of their usual costumes. The more she looked between them to spot any, the more confused she became.

Eventually, the mute got fed up with it. She sped in front of her favorite blonde and signed her question.

"Well," he looked to the twins who were looking bemused themselves. "Mel has stronger legs thanks to her fighting style. Mil has toned arms and her hair is a bit wavier than Mel's."

The sisters were pleased with their oldest friend. Only he had been able to spot the subtle differences between them as children. They smirked at Neo, pleased at her pouting.

She would have more to pout over if all went according to their plan. Oh no, they would not do something as tasteless as killing her. It would ruin business! No, the plan was to complete the heist without a hitch, then drag Jaune to a private 'celebration' while Neo had to stay with her employer/partner/honorary parent. They would play with him, caress him, please him. A years-old promise, made during a played wedding, unforgotten by the Malachites, would be fulfilled tonight.

That was the plan. Not foolproof, but it should work.

The compound the unlikely team was about to infiltrate was a dilapidated old mansion once used by a noble as a winter residence, now abandoned and used by local gangs. The Defiant had recently 'acquired' the compound from the remains of a mafia that once had all of Vale within it's chokehold. This new gang consisted of ruffians trying to get into the arms dealing business, particularly after Roman had to go underground when his association with the White Fang was discovered and Team RWBY handed him his ass.

He was still bitter about that one. Mentioning it usually soured his mood for the rest of the day.

Jaune was happy about this kind of briefing, provided to him by his friends. That way, he had a proper picture of what he had gotten himself into. He would most definitely get chewed out by his friends in Beacon Academy for this, but he had to prove himself!

It was like an unofficial mission, commissioned by a civilian. _Technically_ civilian.

You know, Huntsman life.

The blonde only regretted having to lie to his team and friends. He called them, telling them that something came up and he had to do something over the night in Vale. He had to assure them that he was fine as Nora let out a despairing yell. Only the promise of his pancakes calmed her down.

That and the promise not to take any invites from strangers.

What was he, five years old?! He got taught early on not to follow strangers.

Still, giving his word there was easy as pie. He did not technically break it, after all.

And so, he had embarked on a mission for a known criminal, with said criminal's right-hand woman and his two friends from childhood who doubled as bouncers at a nightclub run by a former mob boss.

Goodie.

"Where is the mansion, anyway? Shouldn't it be, I dunno, somewhere near the streets?" Miltia complained, fed up with the winding ways of Vale.

"Wasn't the noble that built the mansion a recluse?" pondered Melanie. "Anyway, let's finish this quick and go home to celebrate. These outfits kinda chafe."

The knight agreed with that assessment, even if he only wore his usual duds. The twins had instead opted for mobility wear consisting of leather catsuits. Jaune found that those accentuated their figures quite well and had to restrain himself from staring too much.

His gaze turned to Neo instead, who wore her usual clothing. White and pink, a corset and a jacket, with her parasol always present.

She looked pretty good like this. The way the corset accentuated her bust…

Bad thoughts. One should not lust after their friends while on a mission.

'_It would not stop the others, would it?_'

Perhaps, though he could not speak for them.

After yet another turn left and another right, the usually red clad twin was officially fed up.

"Where is this stupid ass mansion?" Miltia hissed.

"In the middle of bumfuck nowhere. Either that or pintsize got us lost."

Neo huffed in indignation. She signed a number of words Jaune would not translate.

'_Claws are not made for going up _there_._'

"Out of all of us, Neo is the only one who knows exactly where this mansion is," interjected the young man, trying to calm down everyone before the situation escalated. "We need to trust her with this, otherwise the mission is a bust."

Neo made her signs. "'It's around the next corner'," was the translation.

"Better hope so," grumbled the usually white twin. "The mission itself hasn't even started and I want to go home already."

The blonde among them chuckled. "It's just like back then. We were trying to find some berries and you wanted to give up after five minutes, Mel."

Cheeks were puffed. "That was when we were kids! And I wasn't the one who peed herself."

A cough was her answer to the banter. "I was four, okay?! I could count myself lucky that I didn't pee in my bed!"

"Whatever you say, Jaune," Miltia had joined in, giggling.

A raised fist interrupted them.

Before them stood their destination. Cracked walls, some windows thrown in, the door to the garden they were approaching from stood ajar.

It was a creepy serial killer mansion with every single conceivable cliche rolled up into a building that now worked as a criminal hideout. All it was missing was someone wearing faces as a mask and they would be starring in a horror movie.

Needless to say that Jaune hated those with all his might.

Melanie sighed in relief. "Fucking finally. Let's be quick about this. In and out."

Miltia giggled. "Hey now, we are not those two pump chumps that try to get fresh with us every other night."

'_Note to self, find these people and crap in their beds._' Jaune shook his head free of the sudden thought.

"You think we are gonna find some freaky sex dungeon in there?" Mel giggled.

"Girls, focus." It wasn't as much a command as it was a plea for them to stop already. It was midnight and Jaune would like to at least go to sleep before the sun rose up again.

Neo approached him from the side, smiling at him in an understanding manner.

"_Don't you worry. Stick to me and you will be fine,_" she gestured.

The short killer beckoned everyone to crowd around her as she used her semblance. Mirrors were brought up, constructed by her aura, reflecting any picture the user desired.

One very handy semblance, particularly for a thief.

So why was he needed if the ice-cream themed terror might as well do it herself?

Perhaps it was on a whim, that she didn't want to do it alone.

Either that or Roman was worried about her.

Now protected by the invisible walls, the team trudged forward through the opened gate in the fence surrounding the garden. It had seen better days, looking like something had wrenched it open.

The knight did his best to stick close to the shortstack. The mirrors she had thrown up could shatter with a single touch, something he would not risk.

Lucky him that he did not wear a full set of armor. The clamor would have drawn the attention of the Defiant, illusion or no. Still, he would have to avoid rapid movement.

The twins had the right idea in that regard. Leather made very little noise during movement.

As the four thieves approached the ajar door leading into the mansion itself, Jaune heard the snoring of the occupants.

"That's a drunk snore," whispered Miltia. "We have the advantage. They won't wake up anytime soon."

Their leader nodded. "Good. We best not split up. Stick together in case everything goes south anyway." Every word was a hushed whisper.

Jaune barely withstood the sudden burst of excitement. He felt like a secret agent right now. Comic books? They ain't got shit on him right now!

And thus, they walked. Neo used her proximity to the object of her affections and rubbed her head against his arm like a cat. He did not withstand, instead rubbing her head in an automatic response.

Mel and Mil huffed, but said nothing. They just had to bide their time…

An odd sight greeted them as they rounded the corner into a hallway full of doors. One of the Defiant was slumped against the wall, fast asleep and clutching what appeared to be an assault rifle. The grown man hugged the piece of metal like it was a teddy bear.

"Momma...more chok'lit..."

Almost adorable. Yet, they had a mission to carry out.

The first door opened by the hand of Miltiades. Merely some bookshelves holding several books, some of which had found their way to the floor. Some had pages torn out of them.

'_Blake would have a fit._'

Melanie opened the second one and stood, baffled. The room itself looked fairly normal, like a salon of sorts. What stood out was the coffee table.

It was propped up on what appeared to be penises carved from wood.

"Fucking nobles." Melanie's commentary was succinct.

"That was the general idea, apparently," Jaune quipped back, causing them to stifle their giggles.

The next door led to a room outfitted with an ornate desk, some lower bookshelves and a six foot phallus made of wood.

"What the hell?" It was hard to whisper when you just saw a wooden cock that was too large to be properly used as a dildo and was instead used as decoration.

Slightly hesitant, Jaune opened the next door.

"I am so done."

A throne made of carved penises greeted him, various leather restraints dotting the walls of this room.

"We should have more luck upstairs," he grumbled.

"Let's hurry," the claw wielder agreed. "As hilarious as this is, I don't want to spend my evening in Dick Mansion."

More alcohol corpses came along the way, all of them clutching to their weapons like lifelines. Neo took a closer look at one of the deadly appliances.

"'Atlesian make'," Jaune whispered the translation. "'The newest models, too. They salvaged what was left of Roman's business.'" A scowl crossed the mute's features at the thought.

"Shit," was the eloquent reply. "We should find a way to clear out their operation. Who knows what they are planning."

Ascending a large staircase, the next floor was awaiting their trespassing. It looked almost exactly the same as downstairs.

Except that the four could hear voices now.

"You hear this?" Melanie already had her heels ready.

"Loud and clear." Jaune slowly drew Crocea Mors, making the minimum amount of noise possible.

"Judging from what we have seen so far, it could be an orgy," quipped Miltia, engaging her claws.

Neo drew her blade. No word needed to be said or signed; everyone knew what was up.

This operation was hinging on the approaching contact with the Defiant. If they could be dispatched quickly and without much noise, the mute, the twins and the huntsman trainee would come out of this smoothly. After that, they would just have to find this coffer they were looking for, get the hell out, collect the reward and be off to whereever.

Further down the hall stood a door slightly ajar, light seeping out of the crack. Diagonally opposite of it, closer to the four, was a closed door that could potentially hold what they were looking for.

Either it was there, or it was with the waking gang members. Jaune really hoped it wasn't.

Said hope was dashed as they approached, hearing the conversation better.

"Fucking Torchwick," one laughed. "Thinks he is sooo clever, and look what we have here!"

Please no.

"What's inside?" another asked, sounding a tad drunk.

"Dunno. There's a lock on it."

"Whatever's in it must be worth a lot!" a different voice yelled. "Fucking gems or a wad of cash, I bet."

Damn it all. They had the coffer.

"Now what?" Jaune hissed to the girls.

"Simple," Melanie smirked, raising her leg to show off her sharpened heels. "We go in, overrun them, knock 'em out cold and grab the thing."

Providing no better plan, he gripped his sheath in his free hand, prepared to unfurl it into a shield. It would make too much noise to do it now and would cost them the surprise.

They approached slowly.

"Where did we find this again?" one babbled.

"Same place we found the guns, dipshit! That warehouse of Torchwick's, right in his office, even!"

Unknown to the two-bit gangsters, their reckoning had arrived.

Four young warriors charged in. No battlecry was uttered by them, one displaying a shield with twin crescents and a shining blade in his hand.

He was not known to them at all. The twins, however, were briefly recognized as Junior's hot bodyguards as he was knocked out alongside his colleague, who had received a shield to the face, by a swift kick to the temple.

The last one barely moved or screamed out of pure terror towards his adversary. Neopolitan, the enforcer of Torchwick, infamous butcher of the human traffickers that had once infested the docks, approached him with a smirk, hitting him with a decisive strike against the head.

Three strikes, three KOs.

Glad that the attack went perfectly, Jaune decided to take a look at their objective.

It was a small coffer, ornately carved, appearing as if roots had taken hold of it.

This was their end goal.

"Good," Jaune whispered. Finding their way to the backside of the mansion as to avoid potential guards and sneaking about had cost them valuable time that could be spent sleeping right about now.

"Neo," he spoke up, a sudden thought appearing in his head. "Why didn't we use your semblance to sneak in from the front?"

Silence. He did not turn around. He didn't need to, as he heard the sound of a palm meeting a face.

She hadn't thought of that.

"Are you for real?" hissed a very irate Miltia. "We sneaked around the back when we could have taken the front?"

As the knight turned around to calm her down, his eyes met those of a rather surprised young man, standing in front of the opened door.

One who was holding a scroll.

He tapped the screen.

Shrill alarms erupted throughout the mansion, rousing even the heaviest sleeper.

The boy in the doorframe was still frozen, not moving an inch, as multiple yells rent throughout the building and the girls whipped around towards the one little spanner in the works.

Because of course he would be awake to snitch on them.

It would be too easy otherwise.

Jaune facepalmed as he heard a yelp and a meaty smack, followed by a thud. '_Just my luck._'

**Omake**

This was a ridiculous idea.

Arslan Altan, team leader of Team ABRN from Haven, was contemplating her approach for a training lesson she had scheduled with a less pale blonde than her. Jaune didn't look like much, but he seemed like a stand-up kind of guy. Not full of himself like other first years were. Frankly, it was better this way, as it would be insulting if he was grandstanding despite his fraudulent entry.

Arslan was mildly miffed about that, but wouldn't dare turn someone away who wanted to become stronger and wanted help. He wanted help, at least from his partner, so he got it. He accepted help from others to get stronger, and everyone had to start somewhere, even if it was a little late.

And hey, any residual anger could be beaten out with a good old spar, right?

Well, not if Arslan was going through with the idea she had in mind. For that to work, the arena was actually not the best place for practice.

"So, what will it be today?" Jaune asked behind her, all chipper. "Some awesome battle technique?" Nope. "Training to find my semblance." No idea what to do there, so no. "Stretching?"

Well...

Arslan turned towards him with a smirk that seemed almost shy. Truth be told, she was still not sure if that was a good idea.

"Do you have some swimming trunks?" she asked. As strange as it sounded, but swimwear was necessary. "We're gonna need those."

He blinked in confusion, but would acquiesce. She was certain of it. "Well, okay? So we're gonna swim?"

Arslan had to grin, anything to stave off the obvious nervousness. "In a sense."

* * *

"Ooooh, wow." Arslan moaned. She was in heaven right now. Who knew that this guy would be this good?

"I didn't expect this," Jaune laughed. "But I guess it makes some sort of sense."

Arslan had proposed massages with oil to ease muscle tensions. This technique was surprisingly popular in martial arts, increasing agility and heightening flexibility. Something the lioness would like to demonstrate today. Yoga was a respectable discipline, excellent for keeping in shape and staying flexible. It was something to remind herself of, since teaching it would be rather embarrassing. It was part of the reason why she was enjoying this treatment to the fullest right now.

It would be all the way downhill from there for her.

"Right!" he exclaimed. Her body felt light as a feather now and was all oiled up. "Now what?"

"Now?" Surely he didn't expect not to get a massage back? "Now you lay down and get a massage from me." Her smirk made him blush lightly as he exchanged places with her. They were located at Beacon's own public swimming pool, at one of the loungers surrounding the body of water.

Grabbing the bottle with oil, she prepared herself for returning the favor. Now that she got a good look, the guy wasn't looking half bad with only his blue swimming trunks. She herself was dressed in a gray two-piece, not overly eyecatching and fulfilled its purpose.

Exactly what she was looking for there.

"Hmm," was his response as she began spreading the oil onto his back. Gentle movements to locate knots in the muscles came first, easening the tension in the muscles. She had to ask now. "How did you learn to give massages?"

"Hm." He seemed to be loving it, which made Ars smile. "I got seven sisters."

She briefly stopped her ministrations. "Seven?" She could barely imagine handling one!

"Yup. Only son out of eight kids."

She continued, a little hesitant at first, finding her rhythm again. "So, they had you learn how to massage?"

He nodded, his face pressed against the lounger. Okay, so his sisters used him as their personal massage specialist. For a given measure of 'specialist'.

"Any other useful skills?" '_How much did your sisters insist on teaching you?_'

"Well I'm a decent cook, can bake, learnt how to do the laundry properly, how to style hair, do the books in the family..."

She raised her eyebrow at that. "Sounds like they wanted you to become a house husband."

He seemed to start saying something before he stopped himself and started thinking. After Arslan found a knot in his back and made to loosen it, he groaned and grumbled "Oh crud, they _did _want me to be a house husband!", making her laugh. It was a nice feeling, just being here, with a cute boy...

Wait, did she just call him cute?

Distraction, distraction! Especially since she was blushing now.

"Well, that's done. Shall we?"

* * *

Coco had been idly walking around when something at the pool caught her eye. Two blondes, one guy and one girl, in swimwear, all oiled up, doing Yoga and making some _fun _poses.

So she stayed, drinking in the sight as long as she could and missing an appointment because she stuck around too long.


	14. Chapter 14: power overwhelming

**My greetings!**

**Poll so far:**

**Pyrrha 5**

**Ruby 6**

**Glynda 15**

**Velvet 4**

**Yang 5**

**Malachite twins 4**

**Neo 12**

**Nora 3**

**Weiss 1**

**JNPR 1 (counts as 1 vote each)**

**Raven 2**

**Blake 6**

**Emerald 1**

**Penny 1**

**Ciel 1**

**Damn, Glynda and Neo are top picks amongst you all.**

**This is the final chance to vote! Go get'em!**

**Also, I feel like I need to do something parallel to this one. Not that I stop having inspiration for this! It's just that I need diversity to keep my mood up.**

**What do you think?**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 14: power overwhelming

Things had gone from quick and professional to hell in a handbasket within a tap from a gangbanger's finger.

Melanie and Miltia charged out of the small office the coffer was in, keeping watch on the hallways whether or not the other Defiant were charging their position. Jaune was opening and closing drawers while Neo was rifling through the pockets of the unconscious enemies. Their goal was to find that damn key to the little thing. After all, if they talked about the thing being locked, then they should be having the key as well, right?

Finally, Neo presented a small metal piece definitely looking like a key. The knight let out a jubilant noise, grabbed the coffer as his partner in crime pocketed the key and bolted out of the room.

"Incoming!"

Three thugs rounded the corner to their right, weapons ready.

"Dammit!" Jaune yelled out. "Quick, fall back!"

"No need to tell us twice!" replied Melanie hastily, prompting Miltia to follow. The other side of the hallway greeted them with two more Defiant, barrels pointing at them.

Quick thinking was necessary here. They were pincered and had to negate the advantage for the enemy somehow. The door next to them where they had initially hoped to find the little damn thing came to mind…

"In here!" he yelled, charging the door down, breaking it out of it's angles. The girls filed in quickly.

"What are we doing in here?!" lamented a somewhat rattled Mil. "We're sitting ducks!"

"And they only have one attack route now," Jaune replied, grinning. "They need to get through this narrow door to shoot us. Their numbers mean nothing!"

Eyes lit up in understanding. Narrow pathways were the doom of any numerically advantageous army, taking away said advantage handily, leaving them to rely on weapon strength and the undignified tactic of just throwing more soldiers.

In short, their enemies were running face-first into the grinder.

'_I love it when a plan comes together._'

Just like the five thugs were, arms primed and ready to spread some lead.

Only that they never got to shooting their load just as much as with a willing, sentient participant during puberty. Melanie dealt a devastating roundhouse kick against the ribs of one while Miltia struck another on the other side, cracking his audibly in tandem with her sister.

"You bitches!" One of them wanted to fire, only to find himself face-to-point with the tip of a parasol, knocking him out with a broken nose.

The other two tried to shoot, but were blocked by a white heater shield approaching them at a suspicious speed.

Two satisfying cracks later, all five thugs were dispatched, with none of them having to die.

A good statistic for someone who needed a clean record to be a huntsman; someone who shielded humanity from dangers within and without. Sure, Neo would have rather killed them, but she had the inkling that their temporary team leader would protest against it. It could kill any future mood.

The pint-sized powerhouse shook the pleasant thought of going in for a hug out of her head, even if they were _just so good_.

Jaune had no time to worry about whether or not he gave the two he knocked out some concussions. He needed to grab his team and get out of here! His shield hand firmly grasped the coffer, shielding it from bullets and keeping it in sight.

He really should have organized a bag for this thing.

The team quickly retraced their steps so far, trying to locate a window to jump out of. To hell with being on the upper floor, they needed to get out of this damn mansion full of dicks and dickheads!

Speaking of dickheads, three of them were running at them full tilt with some crude excuses for weapons. To think they felt like taking on three people trained with Aura and one whose Aura made him into a perfect meatshield!

Dispatching them felt like bullying to Jaune.

"The lower floor is teeming with these assholes!" yelled Miltia, claws primed and eyeing the bottom of the staircase. Screams from the lower floor could be heard. They sounded disorganized, which presented another advantage.

"We need to find another way out. We're sitting ducks right now, and going down will make us even easier targets!" agreed Melanie.

Neo looked around frantically, yet with a determined scowl on her face. There was no chance in hell she would let them meet their end here! If only she had set up an escape route beforehand! She didn't have enough Aura to bring them all to safety! How could she be so narrow-sighted?! She was so focused on spending time with her favorite blonde that she forgot about the most basic things! Roman would chew her out for being careless.

There was no time to dwell on that, however. If she had made a mistake, then she just had to rectify it.

"A-HA!" A particularly ballsy gangster tried to surprise the four, pistol in hand pointing at them. He was blindsided by what happened next.

A wooden penis collided with his head, hitting him directly in the eye.

"Eat my dick!" yelled out Melanie in delight. She turned around to see three deadpan faces directed at her.

"What? I always wanted to do that!"

"Not the time or the place, Mel."

The ballerina kicker pouted, but kept her complaints about it to herself. Neo lunged forward, making sure the gunner was incapacitated.

Searching frantically for anything resembling a window, the four briefly spread out throughout a hallway with four doors.

Jaune opened his and regretted it instantly. Two wooden tits stared back at him like bulging eyes. Seriously, what the hell was it with nobles collecting sexual furniture?!

The twins' rooms were empty. No windows in either of them. Then again, Mel's was a storage room and Mil's was a half-emptied pantry.

In the upper floor.

Because rich people.

The mute knocked twice against the doorframe to the room she opened. Three faces peered into it behind her. There was a comfy chair, a burnt out fireplace and some bookshelves.

Though most interesting of all would be the window that promised instant freedom.

"Quick, girls," commanded Jaune. "Let's break out of here."

The four entered the room, desperate to escape the clusterfuck they managed to get themselves into. All of them halted before the large window.

"We should break it first, yeah? See what is down there first." Miltia had the right idea, visibly uncomfortable of just blindly jumping from such a height. Neo did not hesitate and knocked a hole into the glass pane.

It shattered outwards, unfortunately creating lots of noise. Noise that was picked up by a brute of a man barreling towards the room with rifle in hand.

He fired blindly into the room.

Time slowed for Jaune. He did not think about Aura, and how it protected against the bullets. He thought about the recoil the impacts produced, the pain.

He saw blood when there was none.

He saw his two oldest friends being gunned down.

The small killer lunged forward, smacking the brute multiple time before using her acrobatics to place him in a chokehold.

It went unnoticed by a very distressed youth. He could only see two bodies on the floor, writhing and groaning in pain.

'_No._'

Something stirred within him.

'_I can't let you die._'

Grim determination filled him. He briefly let go of the coffer.

'_I won't let you die._'

It felt like a seal broke, unleashing something amazing, something powerful. It felt like a part of his soul was now truly awake.

"You will not die on ME!"

With a bellow, his hands landed on the midriffs of his friends, his Aura bursting forth into them.

The twins started to glow.

/-/

Pain. Pain. Pain.

These guns packed quite the punch. The twins' Auras had taken some severe hits. It felt like it would be breaking any second now.

Miltia looked at Jaune. He looked so distressed, so frightened. She wanted to reach up, caress his boyishly handsome face, tell him that she would be okay and that he could just lift them both onto his shoulders and jump out. He was a big boy now, after all.

Then his expression changed. '_He is not allowed to do that,_' the claw user thought to herself, feeling hot at his surprisingly fierce glare.

He started to glow. His hands landed somewhat roughly on their midriffs while yelling something she could not quite hear. The pain had numbed her senses somewhat.

Then it disappeared.

The pain was replaced with strength. Power. It spread throughout her body. Every limb, every part, every sense of hers felt blazing hot and burning with energy, empowered to the extreme. Miltia felt like she could go toe-to-toe with a certain blonde bimbo now. Hell, she could take on the damn world!

And she felt _warm_. Like being enveloped in a hug.

Being hugged by Jaune and feeling more powerful in the progress?

She could get used to this feeling.

As one the twins jumped up in fluent motion, just as more thugs came through the door. These poor shmucks were armed only with baseball bats and pipes, things that would not hold up against them.

_Especially_ now.

The two moved. Movement flowed into movement. Punch flowed into kick flowed into punch. They were dancing, making poetry with their bodies, working as one. Composing a hymn of love to their treasured boy who had empowered them so.

A ballad of broken bones.

Within seconds, the thugs were down, one complaining about them being unfair before getting his shit pushed in by Mel's heel.

Metaphorically speaking, of course. The dancing kick chick would not dirty her preferred weapons like this.

"What-"

"-ever."

The twins high-fived, congratulating themselves to a job well done.

Behind them, a dumbfounded knight stood. He had no idea _what_ the fuck just happened, but he would like to repeat it if it meant what it could potentially mean.

His gaze turned to the mute who looked at him in almost childlike wonder. He grabbed her shoulder and let his Aura flow into her.

Jaune swore he could see her light up just as the wall behind them exploded.

"Here comes the pain!" announced a large gangster clad in some armor that has been cobbled together from various metal parts, even some pans.

He also held a grenade launcher.

Neo moved, faster than the eye could see. The room itself seemed to shatter briefly as a blade was glinting in the dark, reflecting the sparse light from outside.

The head came off.

The young man found himself shaken. He had seen a man die before him. It would probably not be the last time, yet this was harrowing. It was so sudden, a life taken in an instant.

His sparring match with Mercury came to mind.

'_You need to close your heart to it. If you don't, it will haunt you forever. It's easier for some and harder for others, but you have to do it if you want to live with having blood on your hands._'

The knight swallowed dry. His gaze was still on the severed head. Trying to detach himself, he did was heroes in action movies tended to do.

"No need to lose your head over this," he whispered to it, quoting Spruce Willis.

Huh.

He felt better now, if only slightly. What do you know?

Before he could gather himself properly, two mismatched eyes appeared in his vision as it started to distort and he suddenly felt queasy.

/-/

Space itself seemed to shatter in a place near Torchwicks current hideout. Four people appeared out of nowhere, confusing the hell out of the cats nearby.

"Buh-How?!" was the eloquent question of one of the twins.

"Your semblance?" the knight asked the mute, still hunched over and trying not to hurl from the sudden transport.

The mute grinned at him, hopping in place. In her hands was the coffer, the damn thing for which they all risked life and limb to get.

Torchwick better have some big cash ready for them.

Speaking of the gentleman thief, he had been patiently waiting for the team of four, which he had christened Team JMMN in his head. Right now, Roman was listening to distant police sirens.

The door unlocked and he turned to it, a bright smile gracing his features.

"Welcome back, kids! Did you bring me a present?"

A disgruntled young man, two neutral identical twins and his oddly chipper right hand woman greeted him, the latter holding the thing they had set out to retrieve.

Torchwick glanced to the clock. "2 a.m. That was not as quick as I would have liked it, but you were escorted by amateurs, Neo. So no harm, no foul."

"Roman." The young man's voice cut through the room like a knife. Had something gone wrong?

"What is this thing, anyway?"

Ah, right. "Allow me to show you. Neo, if you would."

The petite murderer handed the coffer to her employer before fishing the tiny key out of her pocket, handing it to him as well.

The thief smiled, his expression oddly serene, much unlike his usual demeanor. He placed the small wooden box on a nearby counter and unlocked it. The lid was opened, only for him to grab inside and retrieve…

A crank?

He started twisting the crank around while it still seemed stuck to the inside of the coffer.

Or was it attached?

Roman released the small metal thing. A tune chimed, beautifully tinkling a whimsical melody.

"A music box?" Jaune did his best not to assault the gentleman thief right now. They were busting their asses for a damn music box?!

"_The _music box, my young friend," replied the apparent trickster, wearing an expression of reminiscence. "I got it when some snooty rich brat decided it did not need it anymore and threw it out. I caught it by happenstance as it fell out of the window she threw it from." The gaze of the man turned to the window. "So I listened to it. And it got me to thinking. If all those rich snobs have such pretty things that they don't really need, why not take them right away?" He turned back to the four youngsters. "Yes, in a sense, this music box is what started it all. My path to become the Gentleman Thief."

Who knew that the Gentleman Thief of Vale, Roman Torchwick, had a sentimental side to him? Well, Jaune had suspected as much. The way he treated Neo was less that of a henchwoman or colleague and more a trusted friend, perhaps daughter figure, was telling. Plus, how easily he handled his hamminess in every expression and word.

This was beside the point, however.

"I really hope this was worth it right now." If it wasn't, the blonde would find a way to sic either Yang and/or Nora on him. Perhaps destroying hair products and pancake supplies and blaming it on him?

It could work.

"Oh, trust me. The money for this job is in the envelopes I left for you on the table. I think you will find the reward satisfactory."

Team JMMN approached the table as one, opening the unsuspecting brown packages.

"A _thousand _Lien?!"

"For a music box, even!"

"Well, the mission was rather hairy, no?"

"Was it now?" The man raised an eyebrow at that. "Well, no matter. You are all alive and well, but I bet real tired as well. Neo, be a dear and bring him home if you could."

The mute saluted in exuberance, ignoring the knight's cries to hold up and vanished into broken Aura-shaped glass.

"Why would you do that?!" Miltia was furious. Their plan was ruined now.

"Kid has classes today. He'll need the sleep." He turned to them, a cheeky grin on his face. "Besides, I have never seen the shortstack smile so much around any guy. I kinda want her to find her happiness with him. Ah, I'm such a great wingman."

Melanie whined. "But we would have shared if she asked us to! I bet Jaune wouldn't mind."

Miltia turned to her sister in surprise as Roman blinked multiple times in rapid succession.

"Do what now?"

/-/

Jaune felt real woozy for the second time today as he inexplicably appeared right in front of his dormroom. Neo's semblance had proven to be impossibly handy once more. He would appreciate it lots more if he wasn't feeling like dry heaving at 2 a.m in the middle of the hallway.

He would rather not wake everyone with disgusting throat sounds, thank you very much.

"Thanks, Neo," he managed to press out.

A peck on his cheek shook the blonde out of his bout of sickness. He looked up to see a rosy-eyed mute smiling at him, waving him goodnight as she turned around, skipping down the dark hallway.

A warmth he had felt whenever he was around friends felt like bursting into a fire.

Jaune had felt the same feeling twice over today. Both prior times were when he saw the twins kicking ass and taking names.

Was he reciprocating a crush?

Was he reciprocating _several_ crushes?

No. No, that can't be it. Could a man even love more than one person in that way? Could it be possible?

Or was that just his tiredness talking? The adrenaline prior to that?

The team leader opened the door with a swift motion of his scroll against the lock. It had spent the longest time confided in his pocket and had finally found use once more.

Jaune froze at what he saw when he walked into the room.

Sat upon one of the beds was his partner, Pyrrha Nikos, staring forlornly at the shattered moon, her emerald eyes glistening.

She turned around to regard him, a gentle smile now forming on her face.

She also had her hair down, giving her the appearance of a goddess. Unrestrained red hair cascading down her shoulders, no doubt pooling behind her on the bed.

Another fiery feeling spread within him.

"Jaune, are you alright?"

"I'm tired. Sorry for making you stay up so late." He had assumed that he was the one keeping her up at this hour. She had expressed concern for her partner when he had announced his business down in Vale.

"It's alright. I felt like I would see you today again, anyway." She smiled at him.

The fire stirred. Same as when Neo had given him that kiss on the cheek. Same as when the twins had looked at him when they had gone to collect their reward, faces full of gratitude and _longing_.

'_Oum damn tired to think about it now._'

"Well, good night."

He quickly set off his armor, not bothering to change out of his usual duds and flopped onto his bed.

Pyrrha, meanwhile, had noticed her partner's expression. She noticed it very closely.

She also suspected why he had looked at her like a man dying of thirst seeing an oasis.

'_I should let my hair down more often_.'

**Omake**

The shattered moon shined pleasantly into the room of Team CMSN. It was early in the morning , yet the sun was not up yet and its broken counterpart hung unperturbed in the sky.

Cinder Fall looked at the marvel of a natural satellite as she pondered a pleasant dream she had just awoken from. Queen Sovereign of Remnant she had become, ruling over all of man and even the Grimm with her unquestioned authority. Yes, in that dream, Salem herself had perished under the hand of a gruesomely enslaved champion turned living weapon. In her last moments, her mistress gifted her vast magical powers to Cinder, adding to her aura and the Fall Maidens powers.

And a certain knight had become her consort.

Cinder knew that that vision would perhaps not come to pass, as it had seen him ousted from Beacon despite his obvious progress. It had seen her comforting the crestfallen blonde.

In a very passionate way.

In that dream, the almost recklessly passionate night had seen to the siring of her daughter, the name of her darling princess engraved in her mind.

Ella.

Gifted with the sensuous body and confidence of her mother and the blonde hair and blue eyes of her father, she had also displayed her fathers personality, occasionally baffling her mother with the contrast between confident and sensual and exuberantly childish.

It was so very endearing.

Not to mention Jaune displaying his skill as a father and loving husband in insisting on cooking for them, despite having help for such a task, and entertaining them with the tale of Cinder's ascension in the first place. She had seen his personal care for their princess. Their daughter.

These thoughts alone made Cinder all tingly. What had even remotely qualified as her family had used her like a mere maid until the Grimm took them. Perhaps attracted to her misery, perhaps to her anger. Nevertheless, it had been the day where she had come to know Salem that she had acquired the taste for power, the desire to forge her own destiny.

Salem, the Grimm Queen, had been more of a mother to her than her own. Chiding at times, yes, but with a willingness to see her thrive. Salem was more family than her own had ever been.

Yet this dream had shown her that she could have a family of her own. Even if it would not necessarily be under the same circumstances, she was determined, now more than ever, to secure that blonde.

The father of her future child.

And even if that wasn't incentive enough, the vigorous lovemaking she had dreamed of was certainly convincing all on its own.


	15. Chapter 15: trial by fighting

**Grrrreetings!**

**Pyrrha 8**

**Ruby 11**

**Glynda 25**

**Velvet 5**

**Yang 5**

**Malachite twins 4**

**Neo 26**

**Nora 4**

**Weiss 1**

**JNPR 1**

**Raven 2**

**Blake 7**

**Emerald 1**

**Penny 1**

**Ciel 1**

**RWBY 1**

**GLORIOUS! Neo wins in the last lap!**

**Don't you worry, though, your faves will also have their piece of Jaune! It's just that Neo will be having the first slice.**

**Metaphorically of course.**

**Now onto less enjoyable news.**

**Due to university finals I will be a bit occupied from updating this fic. I will write whenever I have free time up until the 17th, the last day of my finals. Until then, this will have to upload sporadically.**

**Enjoy anyways!**

For want of a knight

chapter 15: trial by fighting

Thursday. The day of thunder, lightning and storms, according to legends from the wild lands of Solitas. To Vale, Thursday meant little more than a news report of some upstart gang being rotted out by the local police; something that lifted overall morale.

To Jaune, this Thursday meant something different. He had gotten little time to sleep, yet managed to sleep deeply, making him oddly well rested.

Strange how he tasted cherries when he woke up.

Pyrrha looked at him with her longing gaze again. The fire that had awakened within him when he saw her this morning was smoldering. His heart beat a little faster.

If Pyrrha knew of the effect she had on him, she would either do a backflip or outright kiss him.

That thought and more occupied his mind during the day. The mission he had fulfilled and what he had seen still somewhat haunted him.

He was completely out of it during the entire lesson of Grimm Studies where Professor Port had managed to repeat one of his tall tales.

That had embarrassed him so much that he simply let them all read in the textbook for the remainder of the lesson.

Jaune's mind still remained on last night. Back then he had managed to lead people he was not used to leading through a mission successfully. He had seen some remains of the oddest hobby nobility could have.

He also saw a man die.

The way that large thug had just fallen down, his body limp, as his head was separated from his shoulders. There was something haunting about it.

How fleeting life could be.

He had understood now; the reason why his parents were so reluctant to train him. They were fully aware how quickly a life could end. How easily they could lose him, their only son. That fear had taken hold of them, commanded them to shield him from such a fate.

"Yoo-hoo, Remnant to Jaune."

He blinked. "Hm? Oh, hello Arslan."

"Hey yourself," the fluffy-haired blonde greeted back. "You seem really out of it. Class ended just now and you didn't move an inch."

Did it? Did he? Damn, how deep were his thoughts just now? Any deeper and no one could see him anymore.

Okay, that sounded pretentious as all hell.

"There is...stuff on my mind. I'm sorting it out just now."

The Mistralian pugilist gave him a gentle smile. "You should save it for later on, yeah? Combat Class is up next."

Ah, Combat Class. Once the bane of Jaune's existence, he had now gotten good enough for Goodwitch not to lambast him for lackluster performance. The knight nodded to his fellow blonde in gratitude, who answered it with a wider smile.

"Lien for your thoughts?"

"Chaos," he replied truthfully. His mind was a jumbled mess right now. Too much happening yesterday.

"I heard how your dad and nephew came to visit." Arslan pouted playfully at him. "Shame I could not introduce myself."

He smiled at that. "No need to worry. There will be...more...visits."

Oh, Oum damn it. His entire family had announced to visit the wayward son at Beacon.

Crap.

Arslan laughed at his expression. "Chin up, Jaune! No need to look so glum. They will have missed you anyway, don't they?"

Definitely. Otherwise he would not have gotten the 'Or Else' threat from his dad to call them.

"Guess you're right. Come on, let's go."

She laughed at that. "I am waiting on you, you know?"

/-/

Combat Class with Goodwitch usually demanded full attention from the students. One moment of slacking would be met with retribution from the strict teacher.

And yet, a certain knight could not help but mull over what happened yesterday. The surprise visit from his dad, the talk they had, only to dive in head first into a dangerous mission for a known criminal to retrieve a damn music box.

What the hell was he thinking?! He was risking being arrested for attempted theft and assault!

Mel and Mil had been shot at! They could have gotten seriously hurt. Neo could have...

Well, Neo would be fine. He spared exactly one time with her and she generously handed him his ass.

Though it was somewhat mitigated by him figuring out her tactics. Shattering in front, assault at the back. She was an ambush fighter through and through, meaning he caught her off guard by countering his attack.

That was right before being laid out again. And having Neo sit on him with that oddly cute smirk of hers. Again.

Jaune's mind wandered back to Melanie and Miltades. He had feared for their lives back then. Then, suddenly, they started to kick ass, because…

Because…

'_My Semblance…_'

"I HAVE MY SEMBLANCE!" he blurted out in the middle of class.

Everyone's attention was on him now.

"Mr Arc," the voice of Miss Goodwitch rang up, sounding unamused, masking her intrigue. "You could have announced your recent accomplishment some other time and place. Pray tell, what possessed you to choose this one?"

"Um..." He briefly wracked his brain. "It could be beneficial!"

"How so?" She cocked an eyebrow. Now Jaune stood firmly in the spotlight, something he was not used to. Thus he was struggling with his words at first.

"It's a support semblance and, well, I should come down to properly explain it to everyone here."

That caught interest. Everyone was looking at him, curious about his semblance and why he wanted to test it now.

Glynda caught the sudden attention and figured that it could double as a lesson in Semblance training.

Seconds later, a rather nervous Jaune Arc stood near the arena next to his teacher, feeling the gazes of his peers on him. The pressure was all on him now.

_'Calm. Calm yourself_.'

Ren's advice on meditation came in handy now. He breathed deeply, in and out.

After that he collected himself and spoke.

"My semblance can amplify the aura of others." It made sense. Neo could not teleport over long ranges like that before without setup and Mil and Mel were up and fighting in a beat even after getting their aura knocked in the red. Plus, they seemed stronger and faster than before. And the way he had used it made the Aura boost the most plausible way to it all.

Sorta.

He wasn't 100% about it.

Nonetheless, many started whispering amongst each other, curious about it.

"Mr Arc, that is quite interesting if well and true. Could you demonstrate?"

"I'm gonna need a volunteer."

Hands shot up. Everyone wanted to try it out, obviously curious as to how their semblances and Aura would be working when amplified. Next to him, Miss Goodwitch sighed.

"I will volunteer for this. Mr Arc, if you would."

He nodded happily, glad to have this burden removed. He would rather not choose amongst his vastly increased cycle of friends. It made him feel bad. "Alright. I'll have to touch you though."

Phrasing. Some giggled, others were left gaping. Glynda looked at him curiously as he laid a hand on her shoulder.

The warmth rushed through her, eliciting a gasp. She had never taken a closer look at his reserves, but now she could feel a veritable ocean of Aura within him. The fact that some of it flowed into her filled Glynda with an odd, delightful feeling. She felt stronger.

She felt warm.

Like she was hugged by…

No, no, no. Bad thoughts. Even if they became more and more enticing.

She felt her own semblance. Glynda Goodwitch had perfected her semblance with incredible precision over the years, prodigal in her Aura control.

This was wholly different. Her very semblance felt different, as if…

She unearthed a large chunk of the arena. Glynda's semblance had ripped the block out of the ground itself with the same ease as lifting a finger. Now more than ever, she was conducting the unheard symphony of molecules.

Now she was the one writing the notes.

"Most interesting." That was the best she could say right now. "Your semblance allows you to overcharge the Aura of others, which includes their semblance, it seems." She placed the block back into the hole.

"Now then, any other volunteers will be selected randomly."

/-/

A rather giddy Yang Xiao Long stood in the arena, smiling at her fellow blonde.

"Ready to fill me up, Lover Boy?" she flirted, cocky smile on her lips and eyes half-lidded.

"Don't phrase it like that, Yang," he whined in response, face slowly flushing.

"The dummy is ready," the combat teacher reminded them, pointing to what looked like a scarecrow made of metal. "Whenever you are, students."

Jaune nodded and placed a hand on Yang's shoulder, ignoring her comment to go lower.

She felt warm. Felt like being hyped up by the blonde noodle right before a boxing match. She also felt crazy strong right now.

Yang turned to the dummy. '_Okay, Yang. Think of something to rile you up, just to see how strong I can be with Lover Boy's boost.'_

_Oh, hello, daughter of mine. I decided to kidnap your friend there to make him part of my tribe. I have also taken him as my husband to give me strong children. Your father? What about him?_

That set her off. With a wordless, soundless rage she descended upon the unfortunate dummy. Her punches hailed down onto its frame like machine gun fire, fast and impossibly powerful. Onlookers would swear that her punches flew in such rapid succession that she appeared to have multiple sets of arms.

The dummy was nothing more than scrap metal after that. Yang felt exhilarated and cheered gleefully.

'_I am scared and kinda aroused,_' admitted Jaune to himself as the brawler skipped over to him. She tackled him in a hug, cheering happily at their 'invincible combo'.

/-/

Pyrrha felt immense pleasure in the fact that her partner had such an amazing semblance. He, who had been ridiculed and belittled at the start of Beacon, now desired by more than a dozen females she knew of.

Weiss was eating her nonexistent hat, she was sure.

The only thing that surpassed the pleasure of being partnered with her Destined One was what she was feeling right now.

Utter warmth, like he was engulfing her whole. Like a gentle, loving hug his energy seeped through her, empowering her beyond what she knew.

She lifted the provided block of metal with ease and started to twist it. A practice she had initial difficulty with at the start of her training. Now, Pyrrha Nikos could make it behave like rubber, no, clay.

Metal was her canvas now, her greatest weapon.

She could have kissed her beloved right then and there.

So what stopped her?

The teacher calling for the next student, apparently.

And the call for her to move already.

'_You will not stop me forever. Arkos will set sail!_'

/-/

Arslan was shivering with anticipation, with pure strength.

Her hands tore apart the dummy with ease, as if she was tearing through paper. The lioness threw the remains upwards, lunging at them in a rising uppercut.

The large chunk she hit was embedded into the ceiling and narrowly missed one of the lights.

She couldn't help but grin. This amount of power brimming within her was far more than she had ever anticipated.

'_I wonder if this extends towards his capabilities in the bedroom..._'

Unbeknownst to her, he would reciprocate. He was scaroused again after her performance.

Shame she was interrupted in thanking her dashing paladin properly by the teacher who urged another to come down.

Damn woman. She seemed rather interested testing him out now.

/-/

"This is the bomb!"

Cardin was beside himself, grinning like a loon. His semblance let him generate devastating shockwaves. This, alongside the Dust crystal in his mace, had made for a brutal combo in combat, which laid the foundation for his offensive fighting style.

With Jauney Boy's semblance, this was a wholly different level. His shockwaves had turned into _pillars_ of destructive energy that rose to his own size and went on for quite the distance before dissipating.

Oh, and he felt lighter on his feet. Not exactly an unwelcome sensation.

/-/

Cinder strutted down the arena, almost bursting with anticipation.

She had seen the effects of the knight's semblance on the others. She had seen the Invincible girl bend a solid block of metal like nothing, the blonde boxer brutalizing her non-sentient target and bore witness to even the lumbering brute showing off a rather impressive charged semblance.

Miss Goodwitch had already theorized that the usage of Jaune's ability could supercharge the healing factor courtesy of Aura, healing grievous wounds within a beat.

While useful information, it was not something she was overly interested in right now. 'Right now' being the operative words here. The semblance would no doubt be useful down the line.

Cinder smiled at the blonde goof, who smiled back and laid his hand on her arm.

Overwhelming.

The power rushed through her. Her every sense, every muscle seemed to amplify, bringing her strength, the power she desired. Temporary, of course, but only if Cinder were to let him slip through her grasp.

Her fire seemed to burn hotter, incinerating her unfortunate target, yet another training dummy.

A large portion of the arena was wreathed in flame. Brilliant, billowing, a blazing inferno, hotter than it had ever been.

Cinder laughed.

What a rush that was! How much would it be if she were to fully grasp the powers of the Fall Maiden? If she were to grasp the full power at long last and then being amplified by Jaune Arc…

What could stand before her then?

It was settled then and there. Nothing would stop her! She would make him hers, make him scream her name as-

"Miss Fall!"

Hm?

"That is quite enough. I suppose we should conclude the test for this peculiar semblance right now, as you seem to have lost yourself there."

Cinder looked around. Part of the arena was scorched to hell and back while a rather stunned looking blonde stood to the side.

What she didn't see was Jaune being glad for baggy Jeans. No one could see his fear boner.

'_What is it with me having the hots for strong women?_'

A voice tore him from these musings and, luckily, made him deflate. It would have been weird otherwise.

"Am I interrupting something?"

That voice.

He hadn't heard that voice in quite a while. Last time he did, she had been trying to discourage him yet again from training to be a huntsman.

Glynda looked at the newcomer with surprise on her face, not showing her slight apprehensiveness at being interrupted in her lecture.

Jaune turned around to see a familiar face.

Everyone in the class noted the woman stood in the doorway of the room. Rather statuesque at 6'1, her blonde hair billowed freely around her shoulders as piercing blue eyes gazed from a fair face at the young man in the arena. Seeing her impressive figure with wide hips and a sizable chest obscured by deep blue pants and a black vest framing a white shirt, not a one would believe that she was a mother of eight.

Yes, none other than Arturia Arc had graced Beacon with her presence.

"SWEETIE!"

And she had missed her only son a whole lot.

That became evident as she tackled Jaune in a hug, throwing him down to the ground with the force of a loving mom.

"Art- Mrs Arc, what a surprise." Glynda tried to sound cordial, she really did. The older woman who was once one of her classmates, however, had a way to rile her every damn time.

"Who dat?" was Mercury's succinct question, ignoring the 'Mrs Arc' address. The guy didn't look like he had gotten much sleep that night, so it could be forgiven.

"Oh my." The blonde woman stood upright once more after snuggling her son in her tackle hug. Her gaze turned fierce faster than anyone could anticipate.

"I am Arturia Arc." Her gaze seemed to freeze the air around her, the voice chilling most of the ones present. Had she taken tips from Miss Goodwitch or vice versa? "I do hope you were all nice to my son."


	16. Chapter 16: Appraisals

**Ahhh, nice to be back!**

**Well, not really. Had my exam in Latin on Saturday. One excerpt from 'de Bello Gallico' or 'the gaulic war' by Julius Caesar himself, and we had to translate it.**

**Fucker made a propaganda piece out of it.**

**Next up was the exam for Logic and Argumentation class on Monday.**

_**I wanted to fucking die.**_

**Final one's gonna be History about Normans. Yay.**

**Also, I have been fighting through sudden writer's block in this chapter.**

**That said, ImSoAwesome's "Tournament Arc"came back after a month and Azure announced the continuation of "Dating Show" after a _year._**

_**I am so excited.**_

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 16: appraisals

The classroom was stunned to silence. Jaune Arc's mother sure knew how to make an appearance. Tackling down her own son in a hug and then turning around to give everyone a veiled threat.

What a woman.

One girl in particular saw her opportunity and moved to take it.

Charging down, climbing over the tables with practiced dexterity and landing on her feet down at the arena after performing a somersault was a familiar redhead.

"Hello, Mrs Arc! My name is Pyrrha Nikos and I am your son's partner!" '_I got the biggest crush on him since we first met,_' she might as well have said.

A pair of sharp blue eyes regarded the Invincible Girl, who became increasingly nervous under the woman's scrutinizing gaze.

Finally, she cracked a smile. "Ah, hello. You seem quite nice. I do hope you are a good partner."

"She is!" her son cut in. "She is a great partner. She always encouraged me when I felt down."

These words warmed the spartan's heart; her own partner vouching for her in front of his mother.

It felt like a marriage interview. Except she was fully intending on saying 'yes' this time.

Of course, someone had to ruin it. A smaller body impacted the arena floor, rose petals dancing around her frame.

"Hello! My name's Ruby!" she chirped, waving.

The MatriArc regarded the young Rose with surprise on her face, a glint of recognition in her eyes.

"Well, hello," she greeted back. "Are you one of his teammates?"

"Nope!" And with that, Nora and Ren, the spunky hammer wielder announced their coming. "It's us, the ninja Ren and queen of the castle Nora!" She posed dramatically as her partner stood next to her with a deadpan expression.

"Yup, that's my teammates," Jaune explained, still reeling from his mother's sudden visit. "Ruby is my friend and fellow team leader." The scythe wielder preened at that, smiling brightly.

Arturia had to squash the urge to scoop her up into a hug.

"I feel like I must apologize for the state of the classroom," Cinder decided to speak up, not wanting to be outdone by the others. "My name is Cinder, a friend of your son." She smiled at the adult woman in front of her. "He developed an exceptional semblance and was showcasing it via volunteers."

"Precisely," Glynda interjected, trying to regain control over the classroom and reeling those back that so obviously and desperately wanted to make an impression on the mother of eight. "We were exercising control over semblances, and...are you listening?"

Arturia was not. She was gazing intently at the fire user. Her raven hair, amber eyes and curvaceous figure were all analyzed. Soon the mother came to a conclusion.

'_Another bright contender for my son's hand. My, oh, my, the list is just ever expanding, isn't it?_'

"Arturia!"

"Oh, calm down Glyndie. I was just thinking."

'_Glyndie?_' came the unified thought of the classroom.

"Please, do not call me that."

"Aww, but it fits you so well!"

"It does not. Besides, you are disturbing-"

The bell rang.

"-my class," finished the defeated Glyndie Goodwitch.

"Okay good!" Pyrrha saw another opportunity. "We have lunch break now. Care to join us?"

Arturia smiled. "Sure, why not? I would like to get to know my son's friends, after all."

Jaune sighed. '_This is not gonna end well for me._'

"Glyndie!" the mother chirped to her former pupil. "Come and join us! We have to catch up!"

Now Glynda sighed. "This is not gonna end well for me."

/-/

"Mom, come on."

"No."

"_Please _let go."

"I haven't seen my only son in almost a year! I am gonna give him all the hugs he missed out on."

"Mom, I can barely walk right now."

The sudden congregation of students watched in fascination, amusement and silent longing (for a vaiety of reasons) how the mother of eight Arcs was fawning all over her only son. Said son, while enjoying the fact that his mother didn't yell at him, was less than enthused about the situation. He would rather not continue this and end up being teased for it, thank you very much!

"Come on, mom, you can hug me in the cafeteria all you like, but I need to walk right now!"

Arturia pouted, much unlike the fierce behavior she exhibited before. Now, she seemed like a tamed wildcat cuddling her offspring. Eventually, she did let go, but stayed close to her son.

"So!" she piped up. "Beacon! Everything you wanted it to be?"

Jaune scratched his head at that. "Well, it was a little difficult at first. It was certainly a bit more than i bargained for, but I have my friends and my team to help me. I can actually somewhat hold my own now!" He smiled at that, distantly proud of his achievements so far. He might not be quite on the same level as the others, but he _was_ catching up, and at an alarming speed at that.

That was what his partner said, anyway.

And his team.

And his friends.

No reason to doubt himself, he supposed.

"So you did fight Grimm? Did they hurt you?"

"Mom!" What kinda question was that? Of course they would be; Jaune was not invincible!

"Awww, but he _is_ getting better," Arslan piped up, a smile on her face. "We kinda all decided to help him out when we saw just how fast he could learn." A bold-faced lie. She could not afford their little 'conspiracy' to blow up right here, in the halls. People were lurking about who had no business listening to such a secret.

Her smile turned into a grin. "'Sides, hanging out with him is kinda fun."

The blonde woman smiled at the girl, a glint in her eyes. '_And now there are four._'

"He mostly struggles with Grimm Anatomy," Weiss decided to inform Arturia. "Though we can not quite blame him for it. Our teacher is more focused on talking about himself rather than actually teaching us." The heiress held herself with practiced poise, now more than ever to impress a Pendragon.

"Oh, really? Now that's a shame." She vaguely remembered that the man used to be a passionate speaker, but for his storytelling to have become so drab?

"Oh, it's okay," Ruby chirped. "We have the textbook for that, anyway."

"Hm, do you think that will suffice, puppy?"

Ruby was flustered. "Puppy? My name is Ruby! Ruby Rose!" Why was everyone calling her a puppy?!

"Oh, I know." Mrs Arc was waving it off with a smile. "I knew your mother, too. You look a lot like her."

That gave everyone who knew Ruby personally pause. Including Ruby herself. "You did?"

"Yup. And she was just as much a puppy as you are!" Arturia grabbed the small red hood gently by the head and scratched her behind the ear. "Yes, who is a cute puppy?" she cooed.

The red reaper could not stop it. Instead she melted into the feeling, closing her eyes, her leg hiking up behind her and wiggling a little. She was a puppy now.

Yang was in pieces. "Someone," she wheezed, laughing uncontrollably. "Someone take a picture!"

"Way ahead of you." The heiress' scroll flashed, capturing the sight of Ruby turning into a small dog forever. "And sent." She was thoroughly amused.

Her partner, however, was not. "Weiss!" Ruby finally snapped out of it. "How could you?!"

Reese barely contained her laughter and leaned on a grinning Arslan for support. Emerald giggled as Cinder looked on with clear amusement. Neptune looked the other way, his entire frame shaking with the obvious emotion.

"Shall we go to the cafeteria already?" Blake decided to come to the aid of her teammate, who was as red as her cloak. "I heard they serve fish today."

Hearing that, Jaune looked to her and just then realized a distinct lack of headwear.

So she was brave enough to finally display her faunus heritage?

Good for her. Jaune felt a little proud, feeling like he helped her overcome her insecurity.

"Come on, Ruby." He urged her to go with, gently pressing his hand into her back like an older brother would. Ruby was blushing a little at that.

That was something Arturia did not ignore.

'_OH HO HO! Ohhh, Tai, my son is gonna steal your little Rose~!_'

/-/

It was lunchtime, an entire classroom alongside it's teacher was in the cafeteria and it was not the first time today that Jaune wanted to run and hide.

"Jauney here had to play dress-up so often with his sisters!" his mom recollected with a wistful smile on her face.

"Mooom." The audience listened to her with an almost religious reverence, grins and smiles all around. Because of course parents would try to embarrass you!

"His sisters wanted to play with him so badly, but this was the only thing they came up with that they had some fun with!"

"Mom."

"Aww, come on, Vomit Boy. We know that-"

Arturia's attention snapped to the younger blonde. "_What_ did you call my son?" Her gaze had turned icy at the drop of those two words.

Uh oh. Evasive maneuvers! Deflect, distract!

"He puked on my shoes on the airship."

Brain WHY.

A sigh escaped the mother's lips. "His motion sickness, I take it? I hope you don't hold it against him?"

"Nope." She had at first, true, but she had grown out of it. "I give everyone nicknames. Like P-Money over there." She pointed to Pyrrha.

"Oh _really _now?" Yang was not out of hot water yet. "What others?"

She reacted quickly. "Weiss cream."

"Hey!"

"Blakey or Kitty Cat."

"I resent the second nickname."

"Rubes."

"That's me." Ruby was munching on cookies all the while.

"And for your son there is also Lover Boy."

A grin turned feral. "Oh? Why is that?"

Yang just had to tell her now. Tell her about her son's half-baked and oddly adorable attempts to win over Weiss, only to be shot down every time. Sure, it would redirect the ire of the woman towards her teammate, but at least She would be off the hot seat!

Yeah, no, not happening. That and Yang made the mistake to look over to Jaune, who was blushing lightly. He had no business looking this cute when he was flustered!

"Say no more." Arturia Arc was in a benevolent mood, it seemed.

"_HA! Suck it, Tai! My son's gonna marry your daughter!_'

Or not. Not that anyone noticed.

She did, however, want to address something, or rather someone, a little more important right now. She looked directly at Blake.

"You are Kali's daughter, are you not?"

The cat faunus stiffened at hearing her mother's name. It made sense that Johnathan Arc's wife would be acquainted with the Belladonna's as well. Still, it was somewhat uncomfortable.

"Erm, yes, I am. Do you have some questions?"

"Quite a few, actually," Arturia's gaze held a sharpness alongside her tone that made the runaway wince. The glare did soften after a moment. "Though I would like to ask if you are reading any books at the moment."

"She's reading smut~."

"It's not smut!" defended Blake in her usual way. "'Ninjas of love' is erotic literature and-"

"It's still smut, Kitty Cat."

"Erotic literature, actually," interjected Arturia amusedly. "I should now."

"Mom, no." Aghast, her son did his damnedest to hold his mom back from embarassing him even more.

"Why is that?" Now Cinder, who had listened on to the rather amusing drivel for a bit, wanted to get a word in. She ignored the blonde's flailing with the ease practiced on those cocky and self-assured enough to try and crudely court her.

"Why, I wrote that series, of course!" the grown woman exclaimed with a radiant smile.

Silence greeted her.

"You-" Blake swallowed hard, mind racing. It was not everyday you got to meet the author of her favorite book series. "You did?"

"I did. It was published using pen names, however. And I had help."

"MOM NO!" Scratch what happened before, _now_ Jaune was panicking, to the mounting bewilderment and amusement of those around.

"He provided the worldbuilding." She was pointing at her son with that.

Seeing as everyone was either too stunned or too embarrassed, no one, save one, reacted right away when Blake decided to 'do the Yang'.

She slung an overly embarrassed Jaune over her shoulder, loudly declared that he would give her kittens with a manic look on her face and ran out of the cafeteria at full speed.

While his mother was grinning, everyone else took a bit to register what just happened, right before following the abducted to ensure his safety and, for now, his virginity. Also to witness the clusterfuck in first row, but that was restricted to choice people.

Left behind were a highly amused mother of eight and one annoyed teacher, who had to fight the want to go after them as well for the sake of damage control. A distraction was necessary.

"So, Tori," she began, using the nickname given to her by herself. "Is there any other reason for you to visit? Besides seeing your son I mean."

The Arc woman regarded the disciplinarian with an amused expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You do. You could've gone for a visit at any given time, but chose to go for it so late. Why is that?"

"Did you know that John was visiting yesterday?"

That she didn't. Her surprised expression was telling. "I was working, so..."

"Aw, always work and no play." Tori pouted playfully. "But yes, we did visit for another reason." She leaned forward with a conspiratory expression on her fair face.

"Jaune's birthday is coming up, and we need to know what he wants."

/-/

Taiyang Xiao Long was shaken.

Few things could rattle that man nowadays. Having your first wife leaving you without so much as a goodbye and your second wife in all but law dying on a mission and leaving you behind with two daughters from different mothers made you quite resistant to shocking things in the long run. Of course, that did not stop the Big Bad Bear of Patch from worrying over his daughters. He was a rather doting father, picking up the slack for a lack of mother figure in his daughter's life.

Truly, very few things could rattle him now, all of them connected to his daughters.

Hence why he was shaken.

He had received a photo from Yang via scroll of Ruby behaving like a small dog. While adorable in it's own right, he was certain his little Sun Dragon would protect his precious Petal from any boy who would violate her personal space like that.

And there was the problem.

A call was made.

"Qrow, we have a situation."

"Really?" The drunken slur was a clear indicator that his teammate had been drinking. Again.

"It's Tori."

"Who?"

A sigh. "Arturia fucking Pendragon. The girl we pranked by telling John she had feelings for him."

A single pause followed. "Didn't she threaten us that she would have a son so that he could fuck our wives?"

"That's the one."

Another pause. "Fuuuuuck."

"Yeah."

"Well, what happened? Did she find Rae and kidnapped her to give to her son?"

"She is at Beacon."

"No."

"Yes."

"The girls are in danger."

"I'm with you. Pick me up when you can. We're heading to Beacon."


	17. Chapter 17: bunny versus dog

**Hello!**

**I apologize for my absence, though i am finally done with exams now. So regular updates will resume again.**

**So, about the time of the setting, because I have a feeling that you all are a bit confused.**

**Ruby's birthday is the 31st of October, if I recall correctly, which will be two days from the current situation.**

**Jaune's birthday will be on the 9th of November. The reason for that is that it's basically a day of fate, so to speak.**

**Well, how much shit, good and bad, happened on that day? On the top of my head I can name the Fall of the Berlin Wall (definitely good) and the nominal ending of the French Revolution by Napoleon Bonaparte (debatable if good or bad).**

**Also the birthday of Èmile Gaboriau, Jean Monnet and deathday of Charles de Gaulle.**

**So yeah, day of fate is day of Jaune now.**

**Make of that what you will.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 17: bunny versus dog

"I have a Zwei! And I will not hesitate to use him!"

The large group of students had managed to corner the runaway Blake and the surprise author in the dorm of Team RWBY. Blake had already discarded his prized sweater, leaving his well-toned body open to being ogled by basically everyone present. Well, except Zwei, who is a dog, Ruby, holding said dog and glaring at her teammate, and Blake, who was staring at the dog like he was a weapon to wipe out all literature.

Jaune was rattled, lying next to one of the makeshift bunk beds, propping himself up to watch the insanity unfold. Then he realized people were staring at him. So he decided for the most sensible action in this situation.

The knight dove onto one of the beds, utilizing the duvet as a makeshift toga.

Yang was blushing and grinning. '_Oh, sure, Lover Boy. Give us more titillation._'

Unheeding of the smiles, grins and blushes and entirely unaware of his muscle man tiddy on display Jaune eyed the panting Blake warily. He somehow _knew_ that it would end like this, with him being abducted to be interrogated. And with the new information on her from the last few days, he now knew that Blake's words about kittens were entirely serious.

'_What is my life?_'

"Give him back, Blake!"

"Never!"

"Pretty please with tuna on top!"

"No!"

"But why," the reaper whined.

"Mine," snarled Blake.

Cinder stepped forward, glaring at the ninja. "Blake. I am certain Jaune would appreciate it if you let him go. He seems quite startled."

Blake did not listen. "Oh no. That's just some ploy of yours."

"Blake, please," pleaded Jaune himself.

"No!" Blake was acting entirely like a spoiled child right now. "I am gonna have his babies, and nobody can stop me!"

"Blake, listen to yourself!" interjected Weiss. "It is for the best if you just let him leave right now. You can talk later, you know that."

A hiss was her answer. Ruby's eyes narrowed.

"I see." She set down the dog. "Zwei, fetch."

The dog did as commanded, charging a startled Blake, who leaped upwards onto her own bunk bed.

Except that Zwei seemingly misunderstood the command and charged a surprised blonde.

"Hey, wait!"

Too late. The doggo had fetched the duvet away from his body, giving everyone present a show.

"Dammit, Zwei!"

The trusty mutt trotted back to his owner, presenting the piece of cloth to Ruby.

"No, bad Zwei!" Ruby scolded halfheartedly before kneeling down and whispering "Good boy." Zwei wagged his tail in excitement as she discreetly pet him. Zwei wanted more pats, so he tried to fetch again.

His gaze wandered to the discarded hoodie with the bunny on it, pieces of armor strewn around it. The dog decided to fetch that as well. Running over to the prized possession of the young knight, the mutt comped down onto the fabric, intent on fetching it for more pats and belly rubs.

"Zwei, gentle," Jaune coaxed. "Gentle!"

The concept of going gentle seemed lost on the dog as he chomped down on the fabric as he had a paw sitting on the clothing article at the same time. This unison of opposing forces caused something that had consequences reaching far into the future.

The hoodie, having gone through multiple Grimm attacks, being nailed with a javelin, singed, frozen and electrocuted, finally had enough and tore open.

The sound of ripping fabric seemed to echo throughout the entire school. Everyone stilled, including Zwei, who instinctively knew that these strange furs on his two-legged masters and friends should not make that sound.

Where there was once the face of Pumpkin Pete now was a large tear in the hoodie, reaching from near the collar all the way down to the hem at the waist.

"Oh no," was the reaction of the Invincible Girl upon seeing the prized possession of her beloved partner ruined. Everyone turned to regard the dork knight once more.

He had a smile on his face that visibly began to strain.

"That's okay," he chimed, his voice eerily cheerful, desperate to mask a more volatile emotion. "It doesn't bother me."

"Erm, Vomit Boy-" Yang began, unconsciously slipping back to her first nickname for her crush.

"It doesn't bother me that a collector's item is now ruined."

Zwei inched away, increasingly nervous and wary of the blonde who used to lighten up whenever he saw the corgi hopping about.

"Now, Jaune, let's not be overly hasty here," tried Weiss.

"It doesn't bother me that my favorite hoodie, which I had for ten years and was refitted by my mom over and over again can now be used as a rag."

Cinder motioned to Emerald to record this. This was gonna be quite the show.

"It doesn't bother me that I had to eat fifty boxes of that cereal for the box tops to get my hoodie, which is now fit for the trash."

Reese tried to salvage the situation. "Jaune, don't you worry. We can fix it. Right?"

"It doesn't bother me that the threads are so old that they can't be replaced anymore."

"Oh no."

"It doesn't bother me."

His composure slipped.

"It doesn't bother..."

His face slowly contorted to an enraged grimace.

"It bothers me."

He looked at Zwei.

"It bothers me a whole damn lot."

The dog ran in between Ruby's legs into the hallway.

"GET THE HELL BACK HERE!" he finally yelled, charging off. "I AM GONNA NEUTER YOU!"

"Jaune no!" screamed Ruby, running after him. "My dad had him neutered that years ago!"

"THAT IS NOT STOPPING ME!"

The group looked after the retreating forms of the students and the dog, then back to the ruined hoodie, then to Blake, who seemed to have finally snapped out of her, for a lack of a better word, trance.

"I hope he kills that hellhound."

"Blake!" Weiss was scandalized.

Emerald rose her eyebrow. "About that," she started. "Weren't pets forbidden in the dorms?"

"Exactly!"

"He has special permission," explained Yang. "His aura is unlocked, anyway."

Ciel, who was watching in silence the entire time, was flabbergasted. "The dog has aura?"

"I AM GONNA RIP HIS DICK OFF!"

"JAUNE NO!"

Sweatdrops were found all around. "I have never seen him that angry," noted Nora. "And I have seen him scold Pyrrha and Velvet."

That got Cinder's attention. "Really? What for?" She was genuinely curious what the champion and the meek rabbit girl did to upset the usually cheery and obnoxiously nice and handsome young man.

"They taught his nephew a bad word." Team RWBY and NPR winced as Weiss had to explain, recalling the memory of an eerie smile barely masking his fury. Kind of like just now, really.

"His nephew was here?!" May was outraged. Why was she not aware of this?!

Oh right, she had to serve detention for snaring up the headmaster.

/-/

Coco was strutting down the hallway, pondering about how to convince a certain blonde to come shopping for clothes with her.

She was certain that he would appreciate some new duds. As comfortable as his usual hoodie seemed to be, it was anything other than fashionable. Perhaps a nice dress shirt along with some pants. Simple, but open to accessorizing. Alongside a jacket in just the right color composition and he would look good. As far as she could judge from his baggy pants, he had quite a nice butt. It would look _even_ _better_ in some tighter pants. Yes, some nice and shapely buns for her to admire would be quite nice.

Or perhaps a suit. Even if it seemed out of place on the battlefield or in the wilds it would look nice on him. Coco would just have to purchase one from her family-owned shop. Suits there were manufactured with a special mesh developed by yours truly, making them light and durable enough for the more extreme conditions.

Though a suit would clash with his knight aesthetic. Perhaps something like a tunic?

Thinking about the potential there, the minigunner did not notice a small ball of fur fleeing into her direction, almost flying next to her and away from her direction. In her surprise, she turned around to see who was chasing the little thing.

Coco lowered her shades in surprise. Jaune Arc was running full tilt after whatever was just fleeing from him, face contorted in rage. It reminded her of how angry he was about his darling nephew saying 'shit'. Except that this was much worse with his face much more contorted and teeth bared. His Aura flared golden, making Coco do a double take. If she remembered right, his aura was supposed to be white.

The blonde was also topless and showcased some nice rippling muscles. Not too many to make him look bulky and not too little as well. Just the right amount to make a girl inclined that way to salivate.

Coco was classier than that. She simply stared as she waved him down.

"Hey there, bucko. Easy," she cooed. They both ignored a small humanoid form slamming into Jaune's back, squeaking upon impact, and falling back onto the ground. He didn't so much as flinch. "Why are you half naked?"

Jaune panted a little, his facial features relaxing only by a bit. "That son of a bitch tore my hoodie! It was limited edition!"

"Ooh, that's a bummer." And the opportunity she was hoping for. "Though that leaves you without your usual duds, no?"

She gently touched his arm, getting him to calm down a little. Her shades were now discarded and stored in her pocket. Her chocolate brown eyes were now fully visible to him, a genuine rarity. Coco felt a little tingly at seeing his anger evaporating upon seeing her unobstructed face, as if he was soaking in the beauty of a portrait. Her smile grew a little upon the thought.

"I was thinking, blondie. I offered to take you out to look for clothes a while ago and you either forgot completely or did not have the time."

"I didn't forget," noted Jaune as he shook his head. "I _was_ rather preoccupied the last few days."

"No time like the present, then." The fashionista smiled at him, ready to reel him in good. "Are you free tomorrow? I can take you to my store, get you a few changes of clothes. Get you dressed up nice and good." Her smile widened. "Make you look _real_ _tasty_."

He flushed with color. "Erm, I guess?" he tried. "Thank you Coco. What time should we-"

"Pick me up after your last class," she replied. '_Hook, line and sinker._'

"Last class ends two hours after lunch break. I will pick you up at your dorm." Jaune's deep blue eyes were mesmerizing to look at, Coco found. The held such innocence, such wonder.

So much love to give.

"It's a date," she replied coyly, making him blush a little.

As he turned around, Coco decided to look at whoever crashed into him before. It was none other than Ruby Rose, little red from Team RWBY, sprawled out on the floor with a deadpan expression.

"Oh no, Jaune, I'm alright, don't worry about me," she grumbled.

Jaune laughed, embarrassed about the situation. "Sorry, Ruby."

The red reaper sighed, taking the extended hand and dusting herself off a little after standing up. "Are you at least not trying to neuter my dog anymore."

His features hardened immediately. "I hope you punish him accordingly." His voice was dark and stern.

It's tone did things to Coco, imagining herself at his mercy, strapped to her bed with bare buttocks presented to him as he prepared his belt…

Shelving that for later.

"Anyhow, I hope to see you tomorrow, blondie." Coco placed her shades back onto her face, turning around to leave. "Don't be late." Her hand was raised, waving back at him.

"I won't! I keep my word!" he shouted at her retreating form, not seeing her smirk.

'_I'm certain you are, hun._'

/-/

"Scarlet?"

"Hm?"

"What are we doing?"

"Making out."

"Yeah, but why again?"

"Did you forget, Nep? You wanted to get some practice in for making out with boys."

"Right. But I want to know why your finger is up my ass."

"Look, if word in the rumor mill is right, our mutual crush is well endowed. You and me best be prepared for that."

"Why though? Shouldn't he bottom?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, he lacks confidence and is a little awkward..."

"Alright. First of all, confidence or lack thereof as well as their entire disposition does not indicate someone's position in bed or relationship in general. Everyone who thinks otherwise has either never been in a relationship or has a domination fetish. At times both. Secondly, it's always the quite or awkward ones that go all-in balls deep in the bedroom, metaphorically speaking here. It's like some weird cosmic law."

"Okay, if you say so."

"Good. Now shut up and kiss me like a man!"


	18. Chapter 18: Arturia's list

**Wohoo!**

**I have received a pm by Lazerwolf1, author of a large-scale reaction fic, asking for permission to use this here fanfic to have the audience react to it.**

**I am now obligated to love him forever.**

**In all seriousness, I was incredibly happy about his message and am looking forward to when the next chapter drops.**

**Until then I just have to adhere to my own schedule, no?**

**Also, to those who were curious as to why I wrote that last bit in the last chapter.**

**It's a setup for something in the future.**

**Many apologies for the delay!**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 18: Arturia's list

Arturia found herself in quite the good mood today. Not only did she get to see her only son as well as Glyndie again, but also his friends and potential wives. Among them she counted Summer's and Raven's daughters, the pretty redhead with the green eyes and the beautiful brunette.

Ruby, the little red in the hood, was very much like her mother in several regards. Irresistibly adorable, socially awkward and a late bloomer. Plus, she had the same weaknesses as her, namely being scratched behind the ears, cookies according to the aroma slightly wafting around the petite and tall dorky blondes. Now Jaune had to learn of the first one and she would be putty in his hands. Though it would be best to wait until her 16th birthday.

Thank the laws of Vale for the age of sexual consent being just sixteen; Tori would have been rather aggravated if she had to wait for her revenge one year longer, even if seventeen was the age were you were considered legal in all of Remnant. With Summer being dead – bless her soul – and Raven off doing fuck-knows-what, their daughters were the next best thing for her revenge. And hey, they were closer to Jaune's age! That made it a lot easier.

Ruby's sister Yang interrupted her train of appraising thoughts. She was as shapely as Raven was at her age, minus the crazy 'Nature over Nurture' mentality. Seriously, if all of humanity adhered to that logic, they would have gone extinct a while ago.

Anyway.

Yang seemed livelier and much more sociable than her aloof mother and seemed to intently watch both her and Jaune the whole while when they were conversing on the way to the cafeteria and in there. Tori's instincts told her that someone had a crush on a fellow blonde. The thought put a smile on her face.

'_Well, Tai, I will get my revenge after all, __though not exactly in the way I had intended at first__._'

Next was Pyrrha Nikos, famed championship fighter born and raised in Argus. Her beauty and her reputation would have warded off most other people, though not her Jaune, even if he probably acted more out of ignorance than personal hardiness. Her son was not interested in watching something like tournaments, preferring books and tales about huntsmen. Pyrrha did not seem to mind at all, judging from her longing gaze at her partner.

_Partner._ To think that her son was fortunate enough to have her as his partner, meaning that the two roomed together. Now if only the girl wasn't so surprisingly meek, then the two would be a couple already.

Then there was the girl in the red dress, Cinder. Impressive and sensual beauty, a sparkling conversationalist _and_ quite interested in her son. The young woman radiated confidence, something Jaune could use himself. Shame that John's advice on confidence was not exactly helpful.

Oh well.

Tori already thought that her son was quite fortunate as they finally found a free table at their destination. To think that there was even more to come!

Ciel, a little nervous and rather stuffy, but visibly relaxing whenever Jaune was urging her to continue with her story about Atlesian military culture. Thank Oum that Jaune did not decide on Atlas Academy!

Emerald, a girl whose look could be summarized as 'mint chocolate'. Quite the looker and surprisingly sharp-tongued at times – she retorted to a jab from the silver-haired boy about her brief stumbling over the word 'dislocated' with the presumption that her tongue was probably working better than his.

Neon, a bubbly cat faunus, incredibly colorful in attire and personality as she regaled the table with the dancing lesson she received from Jaune. Reese, green-haired with a surprisingly sweet smile, replied with how her friend stumbled through the waltz, resulting in an argument how she herself didn't fare any better.

Nora and Ren, her son's teammates, with the ginger basically clinging to her partner. The two were opposites of each other; she loud and proud, he calm and collected, both of them loyal to their leader. Perhaps even more, judging by the occasional look.

A boy too? Spicy!

May, seeming to be a bit of a wallflower, what with her hiding behind her hair and her clothes. Tori wondered if Jaune would help her break out of her shell. She seemed to be glaring daggers at the overly close seeming Pyrrha.

Ah, jealousy. How sweet you are in small doses!

Nebula, quite pretty and seems to enjoy singing. At least if her occasional singsong interruption of her teammates was anything to go by.

Arslan, ash blonde with nice tan skin, well toned and as fiery as she was loyal. She took her teammate's side in her argument with Neon.

Gwen, graceful and surprisingly adept at imitating birds. Her perfect replication of the cuckoo's call had her son smile brightly. Someone certainly enjoyed her odd talent, which had Gwen blushing and smiling when she noticed as her teammates seemed to smile with her.

Were they in cahoots?

Dew, strawberry blonde, cheeky but sweet. Occasionally so excited that she used her semblance to create small gusts. It was almost as cute as Ruby getting her scritches.

Octavia, beautiful name belonging to a beautiful girl with her auburn hair and gentle smile. Her ability to voice act while retelling a riveting game of Remnant added to the experience.

Arturia most certainly didn't miss the winces going through the crowd at the mention of the game as her darling son smiled sheepishly. She couldn't help but shake her head, smiling. Her son had learned the game fast and was incredibly good at dealing any opponent a crushing defeat. Poor Rogue had lost faith in herself for an entire day when her baby brother beat her. Judging by some of the looks, he had already played some of them.

Ah, but one should not forget Weiss Schnee, heiress to the SDC. The dainty and elegant girl clad in white held herself with poise and grace befitting of a girl in her standing. Arturia found her boorish at first. She never liked elitism, anyway. Then the girl smiled at Jaune and the image of the rich snob went to the bin. She seemed to want his love and attention, feeling perhaps lonely without someone genuinely interested in her as a person. Oh, it was a love story befitting of a bestseller.

Tori wondered if she could write a character based on Weiss.

And then there was Blake. The daughter of Ghira and Kali Belladonna and apparent connoisseur of erotic literature was much like her mother in appearance and her way to snatch a man. Namely abducting him and announcing the making of grandbabies.

Tori liked her already.

Shame that the others were intending on interrupting the siring of more Arcs. For now, anyway. In all honesty, Arturia wouldn't mind in the least if her son decided to literally fuck it and just take them all as his girlfriends.

And boyfriend. Can't miss Ren. He seemed like a nice young man, if a bit introverted by himself, mostly speaking as the straight man to Nora's antics.

Oh, She was most delighted to learn that Melanie and Miltiades Malachite were in Vale as well. The two were inseparable from her baby boy as children. If only they stuck around back then; Arturia would have spent Jaune's teenage years watching a wonderful romance develop instead having to worry about her son being friendless in the school one town over and later going on a fucking crusade for her baby boy. Honestly, she wanted to rip that fuckhead principal's dick off and throw it at some other shithead teacher for ignoring the shitshow that was going on under their noses for _three bastarding years_. The least he could have done would be reigning some of these malignant crotch goblins in or handing out due expulsions. Or setting them on fire would also work, ridding humanity from a bunch of sentient fucking tumors!

Ahem.

This was the reason why Arturia was so utterly delighted at seeing her poor, awkward son surrounded by a small army of friends and potential lovers. She wondered what kind of hell would break loose once they all found out just how close his birthday was.

It would be _glorious_.

A very pleasant surprise was when Mama Arc was probing Glyndie on information about her son's school performance. Lackluster performance in combat class was, unfortunately, predictable, seeing as he had almost no experience. Jaune was, however, catching up at a speed not seen before by the Goodwitch. That and he was described as fiercely loyal and selfless by the educator. That kind of praise had the mother curious, making her probe her fellow blonde for information.

Apparently she was off to Vale with Jaune not so long ago and genuinely befriended him. Of a sort. Arturia immediately saw through that crap and realized that Glynda was developing feelings for her own student.

Any other parent would be bewildered or angry at this revelation, confronting Miss Goodwitch about it. Not Arturia, though. She was _delighted _at surmising this information from her way of retelling the story. Such a sinful, frowned upon union. Well, frowned upon as long as it was illegal for a teacher to make advances on a student.

But what if it was the student making the advances?

It was like counting peas, thinking like that. Still, if Glynda fell for Jaune, there was nothing in existence holding Arturia back from playing matchmaker! Oum knew the hardass teacher needed some romance.

The two women were strutting in the direction in which the gaggle of students had chased the runaway Belladonna. While Glynda seemed ready to dole out punishment for public indecency Arturia herself was giddy at watching the chaos unfold.

Those thoughts were interrupted at watching her son slinking to a room with an open door alongside Ruby, him wearing only his pants.

"Mister Arc! What has happened to your attire?"

"It's not his fault, Miss Goodwitch. Blake undressed him like that and Zwei, well..."

Jaune spoke up, his expression saddened. "The dog destroyed Pumpkin Pete."

Oh goodness no. Jaune clung to that particular hoodie for ages now. The amount of times it had to be refitted to fit him as he grew up was lost to the hours spent on the effort. The threads and fabric nowadays were easily affordable, though the fundamental hoodie might as well have been one of a kind. It probably was right now, which made this situation worse. It had emotional value, as he got it only days before Mil and Mel moved away.

"You think we can salvage it?"

Hm? Was someone talking about…

"You can leave it to me!" The voice of Nebula was unmistakable. "I was thinking of turning it into a muffler."

"Why a muffler?" an irritated sounding Weiss spoke up.

Oh, this was interesting! Tori's gaze met that of her son's as all four of them silently approached the doorway to peer into the dorm.

There they all were, holding what was once a perfectly good hoodie, now basically in tatters. The sight was heartbreaking in its own way. What was intriguing, however, was the scheming of the students around it.

"Well, why not? He can't exactly wear it on his body anymore. Plus, I think he would appreciate it."

"And it would give him the look of an adventurer from olden times," Arslan surmised. "Good thinking."

Reese decided to interject. "Hold on. Who among us can even do that? Change a hoodie into a muffler, I mean."

Tori looked over to her son, who seemed intrigued by that notion. While a muffler was not recommended during the summer, it would most certainly keep him warm in the colder months that were approaching fast.

"Me of course!" cheered Nebula. "I can sew, did I not tell any of you?"

"Well, no," Pyrrha admitted. "We don't really have anything to do with each other."

"True. So, muffler it is?"

"Hold up." Yang came up with a counterpoint. Of sorts. "We should ask him about this first."

"I'm all for it."

Everyone turned around in surprise. "Jaune!" Nora stepped up, the bubbly ginger smiling at her leader. "You really mean it?"

"Yup." He just then noticed his still maintained state of undress. "Um, let me get something real quick."

"No rush," Octavia cheered, imitating the voice of a now flustered Gwen.

It was at this point, as everyone was debating on how the muffler should look, what length it should be and if it would hinder him in combat, that another potential candidate emerged. Rounding the corner and blinking in surprise was an adorable bunny faunus girl with gentle brown eyes and long brown hair. The girl seemed rather shy as she turned away a little with a nervous expression.

"Miss Scarlatina," Glyndie greeted, as stern as ever she was when in teacher mode. "What brings you here?"

"I, uh," Miss Scarlatina seemed to falter a little. "I wanted to look for Jaune and ask him to study together."

Arturia's eyes lit up like searchlights.

"You know mys son?" And the magical words were spoken. The bunny looked at her in surprise, mouth slightly agape before closing it and straightening a little.

"I, uh, yes! My name is Velvet Scarlatina. I am a friend of your son."

Arturia extended a hand. "A pleasure."

'_I got to meet his mum! Yay!_'

'_Adorable! Bunny faunus! So many cute grandchildren! AHAHAHAHA!_'


	19. Chapter 19: best laid plans

**Hello!**

**God fucking dammit, I should have uploaded this three days ago! Goddamn real life getting in the way...**

**I have already planned some serious shit for this! I actually hope to build a backlog of chapters. That way, I don't have to rush things to get them out on schedule.**

**The only thing holding me back is laziness and occasional writers block. **

**Why I still adhere to such a schedule, you ask?**

**It's an exercise in self-discipline at this point.**

**Also, I had way too much difficulty writing this.**

**By the way, I am gonna go back and adjust Glynda's age properly. I honestly thought that she was way younger!**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 19: best laid plans

"Alrighty, everyone!" Arturia cheered. "Time to cook up some plans for this!"

'This' being turning a hoodie into a muffler with the help of an apparently sewing Nebula, which unwittingly earned her points with the mother.

Blake had been successfully restrained with a tactical blanket. Yang immediately joked about a 'purrito', making most groan and Jaune snicker to himself.

Yang had to focus on not pouncing him.

"Quite," agreed Weiss. She was eager to see the knight in something more fetching than an old hoodie, even if it was one dear to him. She already imagined him in a suit, a black one, contrasting her white scheme and looking classy.

'_I should buy him one. Though I would have to get the measurements first._'

"The muffler could get in the way, though," noted Dew. "He fights with sword and shield, so it could get caught up in his weapons."

"Or hit him in the face and obstruct his view," added Ciel, pondering.

Ruby perked up. "Oh, oh, I know! How about we weave Dust into the muffler?"

Jaune chose this exact moment to come back, wearing a simple white T-Shirt. While not suitable for the current climate by any means it was enough to keep him decent indoors.

Besides, wearing armor on bare skin was a bad idea. It would chafe something fierce.

The girls present noticed how their object of affection was filling out the simple clothing with his developing muscles. It certainly provided a nice view.

"Dust, you say?" asked Jaune, surprised by the notion. In all of Beacon academy the knight was the only one who didn't use any kind of Dust. Perhaps it was for the better to change that. _Maybe_, just maybe, it would give him a more noticeable edge against his colleagues in a spar and in the eventual serious combat against the eventual human or faunus foe. Cinder, Emerald and Mercury were adamant about teaching him how he could cope with the eventuality of having to kill someone.

It was for the sake of the many, they managed to persuade him, even if they seemed to struggle a bit with coming up with that answer.

"Well, why not?"

Weiss puffed out her chest. "Of course I am generous enough to provide the Dust needed for this, no need to ask! I would, however, need a favor in the future." She added that bit with a little trepidation in her voice. Jaune's eyebrows rose, intrigued by the generosity. He ultimately didn't question it, 'cause hey, free stuff!

Well, free save for that favor, but oh well.

"That begs the question what kind of Dust we should weave into it," pondered an intrigued Reese.

"'We'? Reese, I kinda doubt that you would be able to do that." Arslan knew her teammate well enough that she realized her inabilities in the wifey crafts. She managed to explode a vacuum by attempting to use it to gather Dust faster.

Nebula winced. "I can sew, yeah, but I can't weave Dust. I never learned how that works."

"Lucky you, then," Cinder spoke up, an infuriatingly smug smirk on her lips. "Dust weaving is something I excel in." She used this opportunity to pose in her red dress right in front of the dork knight, flaunting her assets in the process and making him blush.

Arturia was a happy camper, seeing one of the girls go full throttle.

Blake inhaled, swallowing her annoyance, and mulled over the suggestion. "What kind of Dust should be used?"

"Oh, how about Lightning Dust?" suggested Nora. "Fearless Leader can just throw his muffler forward, wrap it around someone and then bzzzzt!" The hammer wielder really liked the notion. Hell, Jaune could use that to wrap it around her to make use of her semblance! It was a perfect plan!

"There is a problem with that."

Or not.

"Clothes with Dustweave are not meant for offensive purposes. They are used for defense or support of semblance or fighting style. Meaning that Fire Dust is out as well."

Arslan thought of something. "How about Gravity Dust, then?"

Yang pondered. "Not a bad idea. Lover Boy here is mostly defensive in combat. He could just hunker down with it and weather the blows."

"Hold on," Gwen chimed in. "Could it be used to, I dunno, deflect some attacks with the gravity in it?"

"I don't think that is necessary," Jaune decided to speak up. "I would rather go to work against my weaknesses rather than enhancing my strengths."

Pyrrha pondered about that. "True. Your defenses are solid, Jaune. Whoever is strong enough to get through your aura is supposed to be feared."

"Meaning what he lacks is mobility," concluded Ruby. "But how could we...maybe with Gravity Dust after all?"

"How about Wind Dust?" Everyone turned to Dew with intrigue and interest in their expressions. Tori silently cheered her on. '_Impress me and my son!_'

"Well, think about it," the spear wielder started. "Wind Dust can accelerate someone and help them levitate a little without feeling heavy due to its properties." Dew picked up steam, intent on selling the idea. "If Jaune wore a muffler with Wind Dust, he could use it for short bursts of speed, making him advance or retreat quickly. He could also jump higher if he focuses a bit of his aura into the Wind Dust in the muffler, making him reach the Nevermores whenever they decide to divebomb!"

Everyone took a while to ponder the idea. The resident strategist was the first to speak up.

"I like it!" Dew's expression, nervous due to the anticipation, lightened up immediately. "It would be really useful in combat and help me out immensely."

Weiss nodded. "So you have decided on Wind Dust, then? Very well." Tori was giving Dew a thumbs up and a smile, making the wind user preen herself and smiling back.

Octavia leaned over to her teammate. "You _so_ did that to spend time with him practicing with the wind."

Dew had the decency to blush. "Well, you could also help out." A mere whisper. "We are all in this together, aren't we?" This made Gwen and Nebula blush as Yang, Emerald and Neon overheard this.

'_Wait, they banded together as well? How many teams are there?_' Yang was curious.

'_This could be a problem if Jaune's teammates also banded together for this. It would mitigate our chances._' Emerald would have to talk with Cinder to step up their game.

'_That's a thing?!_' Neon was surprised.

"I unfortunately have no Wind Dust present in my supply," interjected Weiss, interrupting the chatter amongst the others. "I can order the Dust to be delivered as soon as possible, though right now, it could very well take until tomorrow to do so."

Jaune blinked, then waved his hands a bit in apparent panic. "Wait, hold on! I can just buy the Dust myself! We all got our stipend from Beacon, right?"

The heiress smiled at him, making him blush and confused at the same time. "Nonsense. It is a paltry matter for me, anyway. Besides, I am eager to see how you shape up in combat with that new muffler."

"Not anytime soon, I'm afraid." Cinder had to change the mood. "Dustweaving takes time and it won't be done in a day."

"I can still get to work on the muffler itself, though!" Nebula held the tattered hoodie upwards in seeming triumph. Jaune wondered once more how he came to have such good friends and how some seemed to have a crush on him.

Okay, the majority of them.

"Oh, I should help," Arturia decided. "I did refit that thing over the years so many times that I lost count." Her scroll beeped, prompting her to pull it out and look. She grimaced in displeasure. "Or not." A sigh escaped her lips. "Family matters. I'm sorry, but I must take my leave. Take care, girls!"

The mother lunged at her son, capturing him in a hug. "You too, sweetiekins. Be a good boy, okay?"

Jaune sighed goodnaturedly, rolled his eyes and hugged back. "Yeah, okay, mom."

"Oh, and Glyndie!"

The educator had been standing just outside the room, simply observing how her students had cooked up a plan for an unconventional accessory that just might work. Her input did not seem to be needed, as it turned out that Miss Schnee and Miss Fall alone had advanced knowledge in regards to Dust. Besides, Miss Gayl's suggestion was ingenious, if unorthodox.

Glynda leaned in to her old friend, who threw her a conspirative smile.

"Live a little," the mother whispered, causing the bespectacled blonde to stiffen. "Go ahead, indulge yourself. You have my blessing."

Miss Goodwitch evenly breathed in and out. She knew that Arturia Pendragon could be quite shrewd, but this was the pinnacle of insanity. She just gave her son's teacher the okay to have an affair with him!

Seriously, was the woman _that_ desperate for grandchildren?

Well yes, if the way she had looked at Miss Scarlatina was any indication.

And the voice in her head that yelled at her to go for it _did not _help.

Tori winked at her coyly as she took off, leaving the headmistress to silently fume at her.

"That reminds me, Jaune!" Pyrrha had remembered something important, seeing her partner in a mere T-Shirt instead of his usual hoodie. "You are going to need new clothes, right?"

Jaune smiled and uttered a sentenced that dashed her hopes of a shopping date. "I got that covered. Coco invited me out for that tomorrow. She wanted to take me out for a good while, anyway."

The champion slumped, reluctantly accepting the reasoning. However, just like that, an idea popped into her head.

And not only hers.

While she nodded to her allies Nora and Ren, Team Zirconia, NDGO, and AR nodded to each of their team members and quickly filed out along with Jaune, Ciel and Neon, the latter looking at the hardassed soldier girl with a quiet signal to follow her.

"Well, thanks again, everyone," Jaune said, smiling warmly at them all. He turned to Miss Goodwitch, missing the giddy and content smiles sent his way. "Excuse me, Miss Goodwitch, but you haven't said anything about the idea."

The educator raised an eyebrow. Her student apparently valued her advice and opinion far more than most other students save for the suck-ups and the occasional ambition-driven trainee.

"I find the idea intriguing. Of course it should be tested first if it is indeed viable for combat, but the overall idea is good. I am looking forward to evaluate your combat performance with that new muffler, Mr Arc." And with that, she took off in the direction of the headmaster's office, dreading the paperwork already.

As Team JNPR said goodbye to Team RWBY and left the room, the blonde bombshell turned to her partner.

"I take it you heard it as well, kitty cat?"

"I did." Blake nodded grimly, confusing Ruby.

"Heard what?"

"Speak up, please." Weiss was intrigued.

The cat ninja explained from her improvised straightjacket. "It seems we are not the only ones vying for Jaune as a team."

/-/

"This is a precarious situation," Cinder noted, mulling over what she had just heard from her teammate and partner in crime. Apparently the competition was much more resourceful than she had given them credit for. Her fair face sported a frown as she thought over the implications of the flirty fashionista on a date with the object of her affections, the key to her own happily ever after.

"What do we do, Cinder?" Emerald was panicking a little. Coco was assertive and…

Hold on.

"For now? I suppose you have a date to spy on tomorrow."

"Wait a moment, Cinder." Emerald had remembered something crucial. "I heard through the grapevine that Coco broke some female hearts during her time at Beacon."

Cinder came to the same conclusion. "Wouldn't that mean she is a lesbian? Why try to seduce a guy, then?"

"Perhaps she is supporting that meek teammate of hers." What was her name, Velvet?

"That or the rumors are only part of the whole truth."

The pseudo Fall Maiden scoffed. "As per usual with rumors, then."

/-/

"Alright, Oc, are you up for this?"

"I am most certainly not!"

"Look, we need someone to spy on Coco and Jaune, to prevent the two from getting too chummy together. Neb is busy with the muffler. Speaking of, Neb, how is-"

_Sniiiiiiff_.

"NEB!"

"Huh, whuh?"

"Ohmigod, you perv!"

"Wait! Does it even smell like him?"

"...it does."

"I call next."

Unbeknownst to Team NDGO, they had an observer. May had kept quiet throughout their discussion. This did not mean that she would just keel over and let others have the blonde knight. No, she would just have to observe and wait.

Tomorrow in particular.

Now if only they stopped sniffing the hoodie!

/-/

"Are you out of your mind? What brought this idea on, anyway?"

Ciel questioned the mental faculties of her fellow Atlesian not for the first time. The suggestion of the funky feline was beyond the pale this time. She had truly suggested an outrageous idea such as this!

A menage á trois, as it was called in the old Valean tongue, still spoken in parts of Vale.

"The amount of societal norms and protocols this scenario would violate are beyond acceptable numbers, Neon. That aside, are you yourself okay with this?"

"Sure am!"

That gave the military girl pause. "Why?"

"Why not?" was the succinct answer. "Life on Remnant is too short to live it with regrets. Besides, Jaune is a great guy, looking out for us all and so caring and charming and goofy and adorable and..."

Ciel deadpanned a her, breaking her stoic demeanor. "Neon!"

"Ah, sorry. Still, you should go along with it. Everyone else seems to be in on the same idea, so why not team up, huh?" Neon's eyes seemed to sparkle with small stars as she tried to persuade her friend and colleague with her puppy eyes. Or kitty eyes, she supposed. She knew she stood little chance against her rather frigid-

"Fine."

Wut.

"Wut?"

Ciel seemed a little embarrassed, her stern appearance now cracking fully as she honest-to-Oum _flushed_.

"I … wish for happiness myself. I wish to be free of this..._compulsion_ of adhering to rules. I have lived by them my entire life. Atlas was my life." The chocolate-skinned cadet looked to her friend. "And then I met you. So full of life, not paying attention to the rules or punctuality, free from anything."

Neon's face changed from dumbfounded to friendly, listening intently to her friend.

"I was jealous of you, in a way. I felt like I could never break out of my habits. Yet you still wanted me to break out and live the life. Of course that couldn't truly happen with me keeping watch over Penny." The excitable android was currently testing her combat ability yet again, this time with the Atlesian Council watching.

"Then I came here and met Jaune." She smiled a little. "He was so patient with me and my compulsions. He was so understanding and wanted me to express myself, be more than Cadet Soleil, be … Ciel."

Her visage changed; the bashful girl making way for a fiercely determined woman. "I want this happiness. It doesn't matter if I have to share." Her voice became stronger, more firm. "I just want to be with him."

Neon smiled at her and nodded. "Well, there we have it." Then she did her best impression of General Ironwood. "Cadet Soleil, you have a mission!"

Ciel played along, feeling content and truly happy for the first time in forever. "I won't let you down, Sir. The VIP shall be secured."

/-/

As the different groups schemed and plotted with Jaune Arc none the wiser, Glynda Goodwitch had made her way to the headmaster's office. Thankfully Arturia had left, meaning that the headache and the unsolicited thoughts would leave her soon. Seriously, even with him being of legal age there were enough problems with what Tori Arc had suggested. Not only her job would be in jeopardy, it wasn't even certain that he would reciprocate her feelings. If she tried to act, only to be shot down, it would scar her emotionally beyond repair. Glynda could not live with that.

And yet the mother of eight was certain that her son would gladly accept her all the same, despite the age difference, despite her being old enough to be his mother herself!

"Lien for your thoughts, Glynda?"

Ozpin, the enigmatic headmaster of Beacon looked at her with his usual mysterious demeanor. Whatever he thought was usually veiled by a mask, concealing his intentions and emotions, turning him into an infuriating partner for a conversation.

"An old friend visiting, nothing of concern."

"Truly? Even when the deputy headmistress is contemplating an affair with a student?"

The platinum blonde stiffened, her expression turning apprehensive

"For shame, Glynda." Somehow the man sounded teasing. "Such behavior is illegal at Beacon Academy."

Yes, she figured.

"Up until recently, that is."

Glynda blinked. "Excuse me?"

Ozpin smirked, sipping his coffee. "I was, shall we say, inspired by an old acquaintance to change the Beacon legislation. You are aware that Beacon has it's own legislation, of course."

Of course. _Of course_ Arturia was behind this. Glynda would strangle that woman next time they met.

Ozpin's tone took on an official sound. "Effective immediately, Beacon staff and any student of legal age are allowed to have more than platonic relations with each other, provided both parties are consenting. The relationship, if established is to be monitored by the headmaster in form of checking the grades of the student in the respective class to avoid favoritism." The man seemed inordinately proud of himself.

He had every right to be. It was basically the okay by parent _and_ her own boss to have something with her own student.

All Glynda could do right now was sigh in trepidation.

"This is my life now."


	20. Chapter 20: unwanted attention

**Greeterlings!**

**I have absolutely no excuse for my absence, though I do have an explanation**

**Laziness.**

**Fucking laziness.**

**Though I also discovered how I managed to slowly burn myself out. So I think I will start with that react fic as a parallel work, alongside including any pairing that will not be reality here in my other fic "Strange tales of remnant".**

**Sound like a plan? Do let me know what you think.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 20: unwanted attention

Ah, Friday. Harbinger of free times and bringer of joy. Designated day of the free, particularly at Beacon.

Classes were over early, with poor Doctor Oobleck managing to get the wrong coffee and ending up crumpled into a pretzel.

Yeah, the students had no idea how that made sense, either.

This, however, played into the hands of one Coco Adel, as she could begin the shopping date with the blonde wonder named Jaune Arc early. Time was a-wasting and many an outfit waiting to be tried out.

Thus, the two strutted down the streets of Vale towards the Adel owned boutique, Adel Fashion. Coco had chosen her own business not only for the sake of self-promotion, but also because she knew for a fact that some of the fitting rooms were soundproofed.

Besides, she knew of more than a few outfits there that her date just _had_ to try.

Honestly, the pair could not have looked any different. He was clad in simple duds, a pair of plain jeans, sneakers and a shirt lent to him by Ren, which turned out to be a little tight. His well toned build strained against the fabric, turning more than a few heads.

Right next to him was a quite attractive woman with quite the ensemble. A white beret, mocha-colored scarf, dark brown jacket and skirt alongside black leggings made her look like a sentient cup of mocha coffee with cream.

Judging by the looks she gave her accomplice over her shades, the purpose of this was to look like a hot beverage to enjoy and savor.

"Now then, blondie," the fashionable spoke up. "Ready to get turned into a full-course meal?"

Blondie laughed. "I hope you're talking clothes, Coco, 'cause I would rather not be eaten today. Though if I would, serve me with some red wine."

Coco grinned. "I'll keep that in mind. Though I would prefer whipped cream."

The mood was good as they traversed the city. Their observers were in less of a good mood.

"They're laughing," Ruby observed, clad in a conspicuously inconspicuous trenchcoat.

"Why are you even wearing that?" Weiss was exasperated with her partner, not the first time in regards to her attire.

"Observation!"

"Rubes always wanted to play detective," Yang explained with a smile.

"Ssh," Blake interjected, eyes on a group opposite of them on the street. Team RWBY had decided to form a group on the sidewalk, trying to act nondescript. With their status as huntresses going hand in hand with flashy attire, the emphasis was on trying.

Blake, however, directed their group's attention to Octavia Ember and Gwen Darcy of Team NDGO, doing the exact same thing as them.

"I think they will try to intervene as well," Blake surmised. "We could use this to our advantage."

"How so?" Weiss was curious. Blake simply pointed at another group observing the two, consisting of Neon and Ciel.

"So another group formed," the heiress mused out loud. "If they interfere with each other it would give us the chance to intervene without their interruption."

"That's a lot of inter's," Ruby noted.

"Add intercourse to that and we are set," joked Yang, making Weiss breathe in, focused on not bludgeoning her teammate for being overly lewd.

/-/

"Did I ever tell you about some rumors about me?"

Jaune blinked. He was not aware of any such rumors regarding Coco. Except the one where she is usually employing her team as help/carry slaves, which Yatsuhashi had confirmed to be true. To someone like him it was more annoying than physically exhausting. At his denial of knowing any other rumors, Coco spoke again.

"It's about me breaking girl's hearts."

Another blink. "Really? You do that?"

Coco had the decency to wince a little. "I could be a little more gentle about it. Shame that most guys at Beacon are not exactly in my strike zone."

"Hm? So you're bisexual, too?"

Her head turned to him, tilting her shades down to reveal her eyes sparkling with mischief. "'Too', you say?" The fashionista smiled. "So, favorite body part?"

He blushed at her brazen way. He should have been a bit more used to it with Yang teasing him as well, yet he was not ready every time. Coco found it adorable.

"Let's backtrack a bit there," he interjected, trying to steer the conversation away from teasing him about his own preferences and instead hoping to turn the tables on the resident temptress.

Wait, did he really just call her that in his mind?

You know what, yes. Yes he did.

"What was that about guys not in your strike zone?"

The second-year sighed almost theatrically. Really, she and Roman would get along swimmingly.

"Well, the guys are either on my shit list, like Team CRDL or that one idiot from Atlas..."

"Well, in the guys' defense, they renounced their jerk ways."

"Takes a bit more than an apology and some cake for Velvet to get off that list," she clarified. "For me, at least."

He nodded. "Go on. What about the others?"

"Well, I won't try anything with my teammates. The potential to fuck it up along with our team cohesion is too high for me."

"That one I understand. Though I like to think I would at least try to make it work either way."

She gave him a look, noticeable even with the shades on. "Some things are just too risky for me. Then there are the ones who are simply not my type, are asexual-"

Jaune felt like interjecting, intrigued at the last one. "Wait, asexual?"

Coco nodded. "Yup. Surprised me when Yats told me how he was asexual, which basically means that he feels no sexual attraction towards anyone. With him it also involves not actually feeling the urge." Her hands danced a little in front of her, seeming bemused at the notion. "Confused the hell out of me at first, but I decided it was for the better."

"With your policy on teammates, yeah. Anyone else?"

"Those with girlfriends. I won't ever be actively responsible for a relationship breaking. I'm better than that."

"Glad to hear it."

"I'm sure you are, Mr Seven Sisters." It had utterly floored her the first time she heard it. Velvet had met the woman who had given birth eight times, claiming her to be a cheerful woman and doting mother. Coco wished she could have been there. "Any relationship problems for them?"

His expression darkened. "Once."

Oh wow, that sounded hot _and _unsettling. "Tell me."

"My sister, Vert. She was always a bit of a tomboy, but was willing to be a little more girly for her first boyfriend. Guy turned out to be a two-timer, cheating on his girlfriend with her." He adopted a smirk. "I might have forged a few letters from imaginary girlfriends, detailing in them how they figured him out and ridiculed him for various inadequacies and distributed them around town, ruining his reputation for good. Showed him not to mess with _my_ family."

How the hell did the gentle noodle turn into a roguish young man. And how did he make it so hot? "Inadequacies?"

"I might have fabricated more than the 'girlfriends' bit." And awkward Jaune was back, scratching the back of his head. Coco just chuckled.

"Well, well, to think you could be that naughty, Jaune," she teased and went for a fierce blow. "You should be _punished_." She had put extra emphasis on the last part, making her sound sultry and making her intentions unmistakably clear.

It did the trick as her company turned into a beacon.

It took a good bit for him to calm down. He was curious now about a certain thing. "In what category do I fit in?"

The minigunner gave a toothy grin. "Aren't you curious? Well, up until the dance you were in the category of 'Not my type'."

That surprised him. "And the dance changed that?"

"Damn right it did. You showed some serious balls. Not literally, of course, though I don't think I would have minded."

He sputtered, making her laugh rambunctiously. She was having the time of her life on this little date of theirs.

Meanwhile, the stalkers- I mean, _reputable __concerned citizens_ were intently watching the exchange taking place.

"I knew something was up," mumbled Blake. "Though I had initially thought she was in it to support Velvet."

"So did I," noted Weiss, brows furrowed. "This may need immediate intervention."

Yang held them all back. "Oh ho, not right now, girls." A grin spread on the fiery blonde's face. "I want to know what he likes in a woman first."

Back over with the two. Coco knew they were approaching the boutique, and with it approaching the ultimate time to turn the noodle into a fashion wonder!

Oh, she was going to have _fun_.

"By the by, you haven't answered my question yet."

Jaune winced, closed his eyes and gulped. He knew he would be judged either way or another.

His beholders were listening in intently. An unseen May was following them over the rooftops, sharpening her hearing. This was crucial information!

"Thighs." The word was grumbled out, loud enough to be picked up by anyone listening in.

Coco's grin was wider than the river in Forever Fall. "Really now?"

Yang was surprised, Blake was caught off guard. Weiss and Ruby shared a triumphant look. Neon and Ciel merely smiled as Gwen and Octavia suppressed their squealing. They had thighs! Quite pretty ones, too.

"Gonna judge me?" Jaune was resigned to whatever fate Coco would bestow upon him.

"For being a man of culture?" The fashionista gave him a sincere grin. "Hell no."

May on the rooftops inspected her own thighs, now asking herself if she was willing to show some leg.

"Here it is." Coco stood in triumph right before a store with wide windows to peer into the shop. It seemed well furnished, rows upon rows of clothing articles and accessories visible from outside the building. Over the glass doors with A's as handles hung a large but not overly large sign displaying the name of the store.

Adel fashion.

Jaune immediately felt hesitant entering the store.

"Come on along, lazy butt!" Oh well, Coco was not gonna be stopped and he was certain she would physically drag him in if he did not walk by himself.

/-/

"Right, this pair of pants and that shirt should go well together."

Ten minutes in and Jaune was feeling almost nostalgic.

"I think this one would go well with your future muffler."

It was like he was shopping with his oldest sister, Rouge, again.

"Though I really want to see you in that ensemble I found for you. You ready yet, Jaune?"

Not really. The ensemble he had been given by her was incredibly eccentric. "Almost done," he replied, unsure if it really fit him. The outfit was indeed quite...unique, for a lack of a better word.

A certain sniper had grown a bit bolder and used the time spying on the two to search for some new duds herself. Something to really bring out her thighs. The other three groups were not using the time properly, spending it instead on eying the curtain.

Coco had done what she could to discreetly guide him to the soundproofed changing rooms to set a bolder part of her plan in motion. Unfortunately, Jaune unwittingly boxblocked her by preferring the curtained rooms for quick handling.

Reasonable from the usual standpoint, yes. Shame that Coco was thirsty and she had a tall drink of water right in front of her, which sported a particularly tight lid.

'_Tight, indeed._' She had the distinct pleasure of seeing him in a pair of pants that brought out his backside quite well. It had also been a bit too tight for his tastes.

He was not talking about his butt.

'_Just you wait, before we're done, I'm gonna break into that treasure chest you call pants and make you call me mommy._'

Yup, Coco was slowly running out of patience. The more she saw him in clothes far more fashionable than his shamefully ruined hoodie – she had absolutely no clue that it was worth _that _much to collectors – the more impatient she became. Thoughts of just ripping the wonderful clothing off became more and more appealing with every new outfit he sported. The ones shadowing them found themselves enjoying the show a fair bit.

The curtain opened and revealed the blonde wonder once more. Multiple breaths hitched.

The outfit was a very flamboyantly styled suit, a flamboyant pink with some gold accents. Brooches in form of ladybugs framed a generous somewhat heart-shaped boob window, showing off some nicely toned pectoral muscles. The pants themselves hugged the legs nicely, showing them off while leaving just enough room in the pelvic area to give him some breathing room.

"Da-yum." Coco was more than appreciative of this outfit. Oh yes, this was a must-have!

"It's, well, pretty odd." Jaune was a little hesitant.

Coco wasn't having it. "Strike a pose, make it work! Get a feel!"

Strike a pose. So, what kind of pose would suit such an outfit the best?

Thus, he posed, slicking his hair back a little, positioning his legs just right, his left hand on his hip as he lightly tugged on the edge of the boob window with the other.

'_Velvet, I really hope you followed us, because this absolute photo material!_'

Yang had to hold herself back badly from hollering and hooting as Weiss and Ruby turned red. Blake used the opportunity to get pictures, same as a very giddy Neon and a fiercely blushing Gwen.

Shame for Velvet that she had to stay back at school as she was Ooblecks PA and was thus tasked with untangling him by watering him with Vacuan espresso.

At this point, Ooblecks metabolism was and eldritch phenomenon.

"So, you think I should buy it?" Jaune had asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, definitely." There was so much yes there. The fabulosity was strong. "Everything's on me, in case I haven't mentioned."

This went against both the knight's pride and his general common sense. "Coco, I would like to pay for this myself."

His not-yet-confirmed sugar mommy shook her head. "You can't afford that by yourself. Just consider the posing my payment, Mr Tall, blonde and _sexy_." The purr she added made the male stiffen a little before hastily retreating back into the changing room.

'_So, wait, does that mean…?_'

It could, it very well could.

Coco was crushing on him just as much as Velvet did.

This was extremely worrying. He did not want to be the cause of a falling out between the two tightly knit teammates. First all of NDGO, now the two beauties of Team CFVY. Not that he didn't find the guys attractive in their own right, but Yatsu just wasn't his type and Fox was happily engaged to a beauty native to Vacuo.

So yeah, two teammates, still a problem.

Even more concerning, now that he thought about it, was Blake. He had the inkling that Ruby and Yang also had feelings for him, which was already a massive Dust keg ready to explode.

Not that he didn't like the girls.

And that was an even _bigger_ issue.

"You done? We're going soon."

"What, already?" He was fairly certain that this was too good to be true.

"Well, yeah, we're gonna shop for accessories, some toiletry to make you smell real nice, then a restaurant for food, then a coffee shop, then..."

Yup, too good to be true.

/-/

Sitting at a table near the busy street was a group of four stunning women. Their combined beauty seemed to radiate outwards, scaring away any would-be suitors attempting to make advances on any of them.

Two of the women were nearly identical save for the hair length and the coloring scheme. One was smaller than the others, yet exuded the confidence and appeal of a woman in her prime.

The fourth of the group was a blonde stunner, displaying maturity even when conversing in a lively manner with her compatriots.

"My darling son was so surprised I showed up! And here I thought his father had warned him already. Well, he did, though I suppose Jaune didn't expect me so soon."

The three other laughed along in merriment and excitement. For Melanie and Miltia Malachite, it wasn't an everyday occurrence for their honorary aunt and, for all three of them, mother of their crush to just pop up to say hello. Neo herself was quite giddy, attempting to learn everything there is from her potential in-law.

Arturia, meanwhile, had related thoughts.

'_Oh ho ho ho! That's three more! I can't believe I could meet the twins again! And they've already met Jaune! Plus the shortstack over here! __Oooh, I am gonna get my baby boy __every flavor of wife! And so many grandbabies for meeee!_'

As her mind was filled with such pleasant thoughts, her vision strayed to the street to see…

Eyes hardened as her smile stiffened. Her posture became rigid, her hand balled to a fist as she barely restrained her rage.

_They_ were here. Here in Vale.

"Auntie Tori?" Miltia tried, noting the sudden change. "What's wrong?"

The mother was all business now. "Change of plans. Follow me, girls, we are gonna go on a mission."

/-/

"Brother?"

"Yes, Brother?"

"Did you see Sister Blake hiding out there as well?"

"Yes. Blending in with those humans. Has she really forsaken the cause?"

"I don't think so. Maybe she is the infiltrator Brother Adam has told us about."

"I thought that would be Sister Ilia?"

"Sister Ilia is probably here on related orders. From High Leader Khan herself."

"Not so loud, you idiot! Do you truly think that Sister Blake is still loyal to us?"

"I do not believe her to be disloyal to the cause after all those years. Even if, it would not matter. With Sister Ilia at our side and thus the official backing of the High Leader, Beacon will fall, with or without Blake Belladonna."

"Indeed, Brother. Glory to the White Fang."


	21. Chapter 21: blast against the past

**Saluté!**

**I feel like I should clarify something, as it seemed to have caused some confusion.**

**The JoJo reference last chapter was a joke due to reviews from an earlier chapter joking about how Jaune was a JoJo. I probably should have written in last chapter that Jaune tried the outfit for fun, but ultimately backed out.**

**I mean, it kinda doesn't truly fit him...**

**Ah well, lesson learned!**

**In other news, regular uploads should resume now!**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 21: blast against the past

As fun as it was posing in that weird outfit, Jaune left it in the store. It simply wasn't his style, despite Coco begging for him to reconsider! Maybe with an Afro…

"No disco." Coco seemed to read his mind.

"Would it even count as disco?"

"If you wear an Afro with a suit, it's always disco, blondie." She rolled her eyes behind her shades. "'Sides, it wouldn't suit you."

"Alright then," he conceded. "Though it would look funny."

His fashion guru sent him a chiding glare. "We're not out here today for making you look funny, Blondie. We are here for outfits aside from the ones we got just now."

True. Jaune was carrying a total of three bags, though only because Coco took it easy on their first stop. One of the bags had the lent shirt within it as the knight was now wearing a much better fitting white dress shirt to go. The advantage of Adel Fashion was that you could always carry it home without washing it, as the employees pre-washed every item laying out in the store for this exact purpose. Sure, it drove prices somewhat up, but it also enabled a constant flow of customers willing to pay extra buck for a quick acquiring of new outfits.

The two did not see the number of people shadowing them, despite Team RWBY having someone wearing a far too large overcoat. Of all the tailers, May was the most subvert, choosing the roofs as her place, like a good sniper would by instinct. Though even she could not resist buying something new to wear. Something to accentuate her thighs.

She hoped Jaune would like it.

Ciel had been bugged by Neon incessantly to go and buy something there, which the cadet refused, stating that nothing there was her style.

That sentence alone made Coco sneeze, wondering where that came from. Pollen? In a ventilated store? She wasn't even allergic!

Octavia and Gwen had forgot to take some money for an impromptu shopping trip, bemoaning the fact that they couldn't take those cute tops right now.

Yang had seen some particularly nice underwear, designed to support mammaries her size in hefty combat while still looking kinda nice. Buying it was a no-brainer, really.

The others would have extensively shopped in that store themselves, were it not for the fact that they were still on a mission.

As Octavia and Gwen continued to be as inconspicuous as possible the two bumped into two faunus. One had bear ears, the other a bushy tail, possibly canine.

"Out of the way, humans," dog tail grumbled absent-mindedly, apparently lost in thought.

Gwen blinked at him. "Rude."

"Meh," her auburn-haired compatriot replied. "Probably has a bad day."

/-/

Meanwhile, with Coco and Jaune…

"Again, I can't believe you backed out at the register."

"I was having second thoughts, alright?"

The fashionista was a bit bummed by Jaune ultimately deciding against the flamboyantly stylish suit. Then again, it gave her an even clearer picture in regards to what she would work with. Something less attention-grabbing. The blonde simply wasn't the type for it.

"By the way," the knight at her side spoke up. "Have you gotten Ruby a present already?"

Coco stilled, before cursing under her breath. "Knew I forgot something. Dammit, this happens way too often."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "What, forgetting presents?"

"Up until the last moment, yeah." She had the decency to look away in shame. "This happens whenever my mind is occupied with something else."

Jaune smiled at her, more teasing than anything. "Like fashion?"

"Yup."

"And my butt."

"Yup- wait." She looked at him dumbfounded as he blushed slightly. "Yeah, I noticed," he admitted.

Coco grinned at him in her cheeky manner. "It is a nice butt."

"You think it's nice?"

She laughed. "Well, not 'Bellabooty' nice, but it is nice."

He blinked. "I'm sorry, Bellabooty?"

Blake in her hideout did a double take as well. "Bellabooty?"

Coco laughed harder. "What, you didn't hear that nickname? Or look at it once?"

Jaune blushed, "Well, once."

"It's a nice ass, isn't it?"

He blushed harder. "It is," he admitted, making a certain cat blush and smile. RWY suddenly thought of emphasizing that part of theirs around him, see how he reacts.

'_But that's filth. But it would be funny. __Maybe he notices me then._'

For a variety of reasons.

That was the moment when a yell got everyone's attention.

"Ohmigod, it's Loser Boy!"

Who?

Two people, a brunette girl and some smarmy looking guy with dirty blonde hair stood before Coco and Jaune, laughing and pointing at him. The minigunner was perplexed at the address, looking at the two and then to Jaune, who had gone pale and stiff.

Arturia had taken a staking point nearby as the two strangers were sniggering at her son, the twins and Neo accompanying her and showing genuine surprise.

Especially at the mother's expression, who looked like she was about to skin the two shits alive.

"It's been too long Loser Boy! What have you been up to?" greeted the dirty blonde. "Still playing go-fer, huh?"

"I mean, yeah," the girl with him concurred in a weirdly snooty manner. "What do you think a girl like that would be doing with him?"

Coco's brow furrowed. She didn't like the way the two talked at all. "Who are you?"

"Ah, sorry." The guy turned up his nonexistent charm. "We are old friends of Loser Boy there."

"No," Jaune finally spoke up. "We were never friends." His voice sounded haunted, as if he was reliving something very unpleasant.

The far less likeable blonde sniggered. "Aww, don't be like that."

Coco interjected. "Pretty sure a friend doesn't call a friend 'Loser Boy'."

The brunette girl shrugged. "Well, ya got us. Loser Boy there was pretty much the loser of our school. It was fun picking on him."

By that point everyone watching had to restrain themselves from intruding on the scene as to not blow their cover. It got progressively harder the more the two unlikeable characters talked.

"Yeah, remember how we once almost set him on fire?"

"Oh yeah! We almost saw what a human torch looked like."

"I mean, Marguerite kinda drove him off," the brunette added.

"Yeah, shame about that." The guy just laughed. "Guess his parents just had it with all this."

"She stabbed me," Jaune supplied, making everyone listening in stare at him in shock and Tori clench her fists.

"Pff, come on, you big baby," the girl scoffed. "She just poked you and you ran off."

"With a knife."

"Details," the guy waved off.

"You two."

Coco spoke up once more, her voice dangerously even. She did her best to restrain herself from lashing out and regretted not having taken her beloved Gianduja with her.

Yang in her hiding spot had no such reservations and was only held back with the combined force of her three teammates who really wanted to let go.

The only thing stopping them from doing so was, well, the law.

The former tormentors looked at Coco with mild intrigue.

"You have fallen for the assumption that he is my go-fer."

The guy blinked. "I mean, yeah. What else would he be?"

"My boyfriend," she proclaimed as she snaked her arm around his, pulling him closer and snapping him out of his stupor.

The tow were stunned before erupting into laughter. "Yeah right," the girl wheezed out. "Pull the other one."

"Hey, I bet you are just some escort paid to give him company."

_That_ made Coco's blood boil. "What did-"

"_What _did you just call her?"

Jaune's face was stern, a fierce glare leveled at his former bully, who was now half a head shorter than him.

"She is a friend of mine," he hissed, more and more repressed anger coming to the forefront by the second. "Insult her and I will not guarantee for anything happening to you." His aura flared, giving him a much more intimidating look.

The idiot before him tried to play it off, growing slightly nervous at his prey suddenly fighting back. "Is that supposed to intimidate me?"

"I am warning you once, and not again." Aura was leaking out, making his very presence suffocating. Passersbys were giving him a wide berth, fleeing from the scene. Coco just looked on, silently cheering her friend on.

"Walk away," the knight of Beacon snarled. "Forget about this meeting. I am warning you only this once, as kindly as I can manage right now."

"Ooh, I am so scared of you," now he was deliberately challenging the taller blonde "and your _escort_."

They say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Arturia herself argued against it, stating that some rejected girl ain't got shit on a good person being _fucking pissed_.

And hoo boy, Jaune was earth-shatteringly fuck-ass mad.

"Now listen to me, you _business accidents_," he snarled, his aura glowing even brighter now, forcing the two imbeciles to fall onto their butts. "I _tried_ to be nice about it. I _tried_ to be the better person. But you two _fucking assholes _just push and push and push."

The aura started to swirl around him like a maelstrom.

"I have done a lot of growing up over the years. For the better. I have grown and grown, and you two have stayed the same immature little _shits_ you have always been."

Onlookers would swear that the aura formed into glowing shadows behind the angry blonde.

"You are nothing more than just footnotes in history, at the very best. Do you want to know why?"

Four shadows stood behind him, nothing but contempt in their barely visible expressions.

Now everyone was certain they were not hallucinating.

"While I carry on to be a warrior, a defender of humanity, you two annoying gnats will be stuck doing the same thing you always do: Pretending to look down onto people you know are better than you."

The aurastorm seemed to dissipate.

"Because you are spiteful little creatures, better off never being born at all. That is all you will ever be."

Jaune's voice had dropped back to a dangerous calm at the last part as his aura retreated back into him. The two insignificant specks were shell shocked to say the very least.

Everyone else were baffled at this display, shock and awe in their expressions. Arturia couldn't be more proud of her son if she tried.

RWB had to restrain their blonde teammate for an entirely different reason now.

"Yang, will you calm down?!"

"After that show?!" She was heavily panting. "Hell no! Momma needs some of that!"

Ruby suddenly stilled. "_Fiiilth,_" she hissed and lunged at her sister, clinging to her head like an iron mask shaped like a petite reaper.

Yang's muffled cries for her younger sister to get off of her and _not touch the hair for the love of Oum_ went tragically unnoticed as Blake and Weiss stood by unhelpfully.

A cracking sound and a cry made them turn around. In her own spot Tori held back from laughing hysterically in her schadenfreude. The twins were still baffled at the display as Neo was blushing profusely with every part of her body.

Somehow the fact that the dirty blonde broke his hand did not reach them. In a foolish attempt to salvage his dignity, the idiot launched a blow onto Jaune. His aura had hardened due to flaring it earlier, meaning the civilian broke his hand in an undignified fashion.

The blonde knight looked unimpressed. "A low blow? Really?" he deadpanned.

Octavia couldn't help herself and laughed. "His dick broke the asshole's hand!"

Said asshole was writhing on the ground crying. "The fuck was that shit?! Did you stuff some metal into your pants to seem bigger or some shit?!"

"I am a student at Beacon, fuckhead," Jaune retorted, steel in his voice. "I am going to be a huntsman and some asshats like you are not going to stop me."

The brunette, flabbergasted at the entire development, collected her crying boyfriend and sent a futile attempt at a deadly glare at the fierce huntsman-in-training. "You will regret that!" she screeched. "My daddy's in the council now, and he is gonna get you expelled for this."

A much harder stare intensified. "Let him try."

With that, the two fled, reeling from the shock that their former victim was done with their shit.

His fellow team leader looked at him. "Could I..." she tried. She was still a little perplexed at these two just coming up and insulting Jaune willy-nilly and, apparently, having been former bullies. Just who the hell did they think they were?!

"Could I get the full story here, Jaune?" She was not entirely sure what compelled the two to act as they did in the first place. More worrying than that, however, was her friend's expression. It was the same haunted stare he had when the two approached them.

"It's a long and unpleasant story," he started. "Could we go someplace else?"

"Sure, Jaune. How about a bakery?"

/-/

Tempers had only slightly cooled off as the situation resolved. Arturia had the sense of mind to record the essential part of the exchange on her scroll and was pondering who to send it to. Should she give it to Ozpin? Or leak it to the council? Perhaps the entirety of the ScrollNet?

"Auntie Tori, could you tell us why these two were harassing Jaune?" Miltia pleaded, somewhat lost and confused in the entire situation.

"Alright girls." Tori noted the downtrodden expression of the mute. "Let's go back first and not interrupt this here."

"Why though?" Melanie was clearly not happy at the thought of disregarding Jaune, leaving him in the care of some other girl. "We should-"

"You won't." The mother's voice booked no argument. "The mood is gone, anyway. This date won't be a resounding success." '_And ain't that a shame._'

Something that bothered her more than the bullies' threat of revenge were the shadows appearing behind Jaune as he was showcasing his vast aura.

It was something she needed to discuss with Johnathan. This particular trait was not a result of the Pendragon bloodline at all.

/-/

"My leg breaking sense is tingling."

"Nora, there is no such sense."

"That you know of!"

Team NPR had stayed behind at Beacon against their better judgment. The reasoning was that there were enough people following their beloved leader and the fashionable seductress to step on her and each other's toes. Also, if these people were inevitably exposed, Team NPR would walk away scot free!

The only problem with that was the nagging uncertainty. Was Coco successful? Did someone else intervene and whisk him away? Or had an unknown party kidnapped him?

The uncertainties kept Pyrrha Nikos on edge.

"Pyrrha, please sit down. You are making Nora nervous."

"I can't," she replied. "I have this nagging feeling that something is wrong with Jaune."

"A ha!" The bubbly bomber interjected with a triumphant cry. "Pyrrha confirmed it! We all have a sixth sense for something special! You with me craving pancakes, me with legs that need breaking and Pyrrha with Jaune-Jaune!"

"Technically, we have over 20 senses."

That gave the hammer wielder pause. "What?"

"Sense of temperature and sense of balance are counted among them."

A brief silence filled out the dorm before it was interrupted by the anguished cry of a Valkyrie.

"My life is a lie!"


	22. Chapter 22: a dark echo

**1.000 followers?!**

**First of all, thank you all for sticking to my very first fanfiction and liking it in the first place!**

**I feel like my writing has improved bit by bit since the first chapter…**

**After this chapter goes online, I will work on the next chapter for "The strange library". **

**I have gotten permission from Azure to do certain works of his!**

**Which ones you will see.**

**Though I will have to censor one of them in a way to still make it enjoyable to adhere to the policies on .**

**While I have already planned some of the chapters out, I am open for suggestions, though do post them over on that fanfic.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 22: a dark echo

The quaint little bakery Coco and Jaune had found was rather welcoming of customers who wished to snack on bread and other baked treats. It had three tables set up in front, more than the usual two of larger competitors.

No wonder it was priding itself on surviving through the Great War.

On this day, however, the bakery could have very well been the cradle of another Great War. This time, it would be started not by a nation but by a single person. Or a group of them.

Such was what those felt who had eavesdropped on Jaune's incredibly depressing stories of his days at a public school. It was revolting to even hear about the treatment he endured day in and day out.

"I never told anyone about this," Jaune finished. "Because I didn't want to be pitied...or made fun of again."

"Jaune," Coco cooed, trying to soothe him. He seemed to be closer and closer to tears the more he had spoken.

"I'm sorry."

The fashionista blinked. "For what?"

"Bringing down the mood."

Coco just shook her head. "Not for that. Not when I asked for the whole story."

Jaune began to shake a little. He seemed to be wracked by the stories from the past, reliving those painful times.

"But hey!" Coco tried to lift his spirits. "You were right! They are not gonna be in Beacon, while you are."

"I'm a fraud."

The silence was palpable. Coco now knew what he was going to say, to _her_. He was confiding her, whether to just get it off his shoulders or because of some misguided attempt to make himself responsible for his own misery, she could not say just yet. What counted was his incoming confession.

"What do you mean?" She did her best to sound intrigued, even if she already knew his secret.

Jaune breathed in and confessed. "I forged my transcripts to get into Beacon Academy. I shouldn't be a student, yet I behaved like I deserved to be here, when I am just a fraud!" His fist slammed on the table at the last word. "I….I don't deserve pity. Just scorn."

Now Coco put some heat into her voice. "Scorn?" Jaune looked at her, seeming in wait for her lambasting. "No." His eyes widened. "Not over some papers that don't even properly capture what is just as important to a huntsman as skill and strength. This-" -she tapped against her head- "-and this." Now she tapped against her breast, right over where her heart resided. "Any monkey can swing a sword and be good at it, but without some brains, they will be overwhelmed against the Grimm. And without heart, they will run away when it matters most for them to stay and fight."

Coco took Jaune's hands into hers, making him look at her. She had discarded her shades to look him in the eyes unobstructed. "I have seen how hard you work, Jaune. You have worked harder in this one year than most at Beacon do their whole lives. And their hearts are not even really in this! Seriously, there are people who think that huntsmen and huntresses are some elite club exclusively for the rich and the beautiful. This is not Atlas High Society! Our job usually ends in sacrifice. And you could have just dropped out at any given time." Her voice softened. "But you stayed. You stuck to it, despite everything. That is why you belong here, at Beacon, with everyone else."

As Jaune listened to the brunette and stared into hher eyes, he felt the same flame, the same heat he had felt when he had gazed upon Neo and Miltia and Melanie, when he saw Pyrrha with her hair down and towards Blake and Velvet when he realized their own crushes on him.

'_What? Why…_'

"Coco, I..."

"Shush," she interrupted. "No more self pity."

He smiled at her, which she returned. "Okay."

"Good. Now, who else knows about your transcripts?"

The blonde sighed. "Pyrrha was the first I've told. Cardin overheard and blackmailed me with that up until I saved his ass at Forever Fall."

Welp, looks like tall, ginger and compensating was going to be on her shit list forever.

"Ozpin knew from the start, so when I went to confess, only Miss Goodwitch was new to this information. With you that makes five people," he concluded.

She furrowed her brows at him. "Not even Team RWBY or you other teammates know?"

"I couldn't." He feared rejection, still did. Coco sighed, debating with herself if she should spill the beans about how the whole School already knows. Though that would ramp his current anxiety up through the roof, so she refrained from doing so.

For now.

"You will have to tell them someday," she said to him in a soothing tone. "if they truly are your friends, they won't care about that."

"Big if in regards to Weiss," he replied. "She is probably still sort of on the fence with me."

"I'm not so sure about that." The Schnee heiress had, according to Blake, whispered the blonde's name in her sleep, accompanied with a 'go harder'. So definitely no on the whole 'selling him out to whomever' thing.

"Enough of the depressing stuff now," she exclaimed. "We haven't even eaten any pastries!"

"Wha-oh yeah!" He _was _feeling peckish. "So what would you like?"

"Oh no no no," she laughed, lightly slapping his shoulder. "My treat. I'm a modern woman, I got money, so it's my treat!"

He sighed, but conceded. Frankly it was rather nice to be treated, but he knew it would not do to have her do it every time. "After that we should look for your present to Ruby. And your outfit for tomorrow."

"Her eyes widened just as she hid them behind her signature shades again. "Dammit, you're right! What should I go as?"

"A purse?"

"Pfft!" She chuckled at the image. "Yeah no. Though I tried to convince Velvet of wearing a playbunny costume."

He balked. "Isn't that offensive?"

"Outside the bedroom yes. Inside though..."

"Coco no."

"You can't stop me!" She laughed, a delightful sound.

Meanwhile Team RWBY made to leave the scene, satisfied that their date would not have a romantic undertone anymore, that Jaune made one step forward to confide them on his own and their new knowledge about him.

"But I wanna stay!"

Oh, and for another reason too.

"Sorry Rubes, but no peeking," Yang laughed as she dragged her sister along. "You'll have to wait like with everyone else."

"But I wanna see!"

"Nope!" Yang was accepting no argument of hers. Their mission was accomplished anyway. "'Sides, what do you want as a present from Ladykiller?"

At that the Rose blushed a little. "I kinda wanna hold his hand."

"Lewd."

Everyone gave Blake a funny look. "What?" Weiss was nonplussed. "Why lewd?"

Now Blake blushed slightly. "Oh that's...a bit of a running gag, so to speak."

Now Yang was curious. "A running gag where?"

"Forums," was the clipped answer. Yang nodded, deciding to grill her later.

"Don't you think that their mood would improve?" Weiss was still a little worried.

"If it does," Ruby chimed in instead. "The others will intervene."

/-/

Cinder Fall feared no mortal.

Few things did nowadays. In the past it had been hunger and any other person. Then her dark mistress came and taught the maiden to fear only her.

But now? Now she feared her Happily Ever After slipping through her fingers. And a certain blonde dork was the key to her bright future.

"Cinder," her mistress purred. She seemed in a light mood, despite the stalling progress in locating the Fall Maiden, staring at her apprentice from the special scroll Watts had prepared.

"Mistress, I have used the schedule shift well." Cinder did not like to grovel, but she did keep humble to avoid Salem's wrath.

"Ah, good." The immortal witch seemed not curious but evaluating. "How exactly did you use this time?"

"I have made connections, Mistress," Cinder reported. "My team has managed to integrate itself among the student body. Our cover is solid."

"Good, good. And the Fall Maiden?"

"Hidden. But we can exclude the official rooms, any hidden levers or buttons in the open places and the foyers, meaning that the way to the maiden could be-"

"She is in a vault," Salem concluded. "Possibly below the school."

Cinder blinked. "Pardon me, Mistress, but how-"

"If the Maiden is not above ground – and _he_ would never be so foolish as to hide her someplace in his office – then she is below ground."

Cinder binked. "Perhaps the way to the vault is hidden in plain sight. The statue in the courtyard, perhaps?"

Salem dismissed it with a handwave. "Too obvious and too plain. No, _he_ would hide it someplace inconspicuous."

Cinder nodded. "I shall redouble my efforts." '_Now,_' she thought. The most pertinent question had to be asked. "Mistress, if I may add something?"

The witch raised a delicate eyebrow. "Go ahead."

"There is one individual among the student body whose semblance would be incredibly useful to our cause. He is capable to amplify aura."

That caught the dark mistress' attention. "Oh? And how do you plan to bring him into the fold? Seduction perhaps?"

Cinder nodded. "That would be the plan, but there seems to be … competition."

Her mistress chuckled a little. "How droll. Is he this important to the others?"

The other Fall Maiden winced a little, but decided to divulge the most crucial information. "His name is Jaune Arc. He is the descendant of a long line of warriors. He has, as such, quite a bit of reputation." A half-truth, as he was not known for his bloodline, but his character, but it was good enough.

Salem hummed. "Very well. If you can, try to bring him over to our cause. If you can not, he would be too dangerous to be left on _his_ side."

Cold sweat ran down Cinder's skin. She knew well what was implied and swore that she would do everything in her power to either put him out of harm's way or outright deceive him to make him join. If she could sneakily finish the job she had begun far too long ago, she could take her time to seduce him. If not…

"It shall be done."

Salem nodded. "Very good. That will be all. Try to finish your objectives properly this time."

With that the connection cut, her red clad agent breathed out in trepidation. The new plan was in motion, but with more stakes than ever. If she failed, her happily ever after would be forever out of her reach. If she succeeded with the Fall Maiden but got exposed, she had to either kill him or get the hell out of dodge as she had no distraction to flee.

She now dialed a new number on her scroll and Emerald's face appeared. She was tasked with shadowing Jaune on his shopping date with Coco while she had to wait and consult with her mistress. Cinder noticed a strange expression on her subordinate's face.

"Emerald, report. What happened?"

The green haired girl swallowed and spoke. "I have two video files for you, Cinder. You need to see this. As for the actual date, well, there is no need to worry right now. Not after what happened."

_That_ was concerning. "Very well, continue with your observation still. Oh, and Emerald?"

"Yes, Cinder."

"...go get yourself some refreshments when you can." It would not do to have her subordinate exhausted from lack of nutrition.

"Yes, Cinder!" Her answer was a little more exuberant, possibly elated at the feeling that her boss _does _care.

The Fall Maiden-to-be smiled while the data transferred. What do you know, Emerald was growing on her.

The reviewing of the material shelved such notions firmly in the back of her mind. How _dare_ those miserable dregs insult her future?! How dare they harass him? They even had the gall to be utterly classless while doing it, snickering and cackling and falling all over themselves like wannabe villains from some ridiculous TV-show.

Then Jaune's wrath came.

Cinder did not know what came over her, but she decided to have that part played on loop while she made herself comfortable. With no one else in sight she began to _enjoy_ the display of anger from the blonde. It was a delight seeing the usually friendly man so viciously tearing into his detractors.

She imagined his voice calling him his queen.

After a wonderfully relaxing session by herself, Cinder played the second video.

'_He's coming out of his shell,_' she noted. '_He is healing from what he had to endure all this time. A shame I could not be the one to mend his wounds properly._'

Cinder Fall gazed out of the window, marveling at the sun beginning to slowly set.

'_My time will come. Soon, my knight._'

/-/

Meanwhile, in the midst of the Grimmlands, Salem pondered the information she had received just now.

This 'Jaune Arc' had a semblance that could empower her own soldiers. She imagined that Tyrian would take a liking on the blonde for this trait alone.

It was time to indulge a hobby of hers.

The days were long and rather uneventful out in the barren lands and you could only plan world domination and the subjugation of the world for so long before getting bored, despite her hatred for her lover turned eternal adversary. And with a new name she could indulge in a particular hobby of hers once more.

"Watts," she called upon the disgraced researcher. "Fetch me any information on the Arc clan you can potentially dig up."

Even immortals need a hobby, and Salem's own was the researching of family trees and their history.

Even if she did not need to know that the family tree of the former Vacuoan royals might as well be a circle.

/-/

After a surprisingly long day of observing the blonde knight and the coffee-themed fashionista, Team RWBY returned to their dorm at last.

"So, who wants to get dinner," Yang asked, feeling peckish after a long day of watching to people not get it on.

Just as she had asked, just as they had all entered the room, two more people came in.

By crashing through the window.

"Ow! Dammit, Qrow! You just _had_ to crash the damn Bullhead on the way here, didn't you?!"

"Lay off me Tai, literally! You need to exercise more, fatass!"

The girls stood dumbfounded as they saw two grown men tussling briefly on the ground before noticing them.

"Oh hey," Qrow Branwen casually greeted.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby sped to the somewhat lanky man and gave him a hug. "And Dad?! What are you doing here at Beacon?"

Taiyang Xiao Long's eyes widened suddenly. "Quick, girls, tell me! Is your innocence still intact?!"

No one answered, just giving him looks of confusion and exasperation.

"Smooth," grumbled Qrow, facepalming.

"Is that why you're here," Yang wanted to know. "Just for that?"

"You misunderstand! Wait!" The grown blonde man looked around frantically before asking "Is she still around?"

"Who?"

"Arturia Pendragon," Qrow supplied. "Tall, blonde, quite the looker."

Ruby's face lit up. "Oh you mean Jaune's mom, Arturia Arc!"

The two men froze. "Her _son_ is here?!"

Weiss had enough of this. "Who are these two imbeciles?!"

Ruby turned around and spread her arms. "The tall and dark-haired with the red eyes is our uncle Qrow, and the tall and blonde with the blue eyes is our Dad!"

The latter just regained his bearings and his sense of manners with them. "Taiyang Xiao Long. Apologies for the late introduction, but we are in a bit of a hurry."

A delicate eyebrow was raised. "To do what, exactly?"

"To protect my daughters' innocence, of course!" The blonde and tanned man seemed rather proud of himself as Yang suddenly looked like she wanted to disappear.

"What do you mean, Dad?" Ruby looked at him, confused and curious.

"It means we'll keep you away from that 'Jaune' kid."

Ruby's smile dimmed. "Pardon?"


	23. Chapter 23: The ball rolls

**So!**

**Some of you will have noticed that NateSnake is writing a reaction to this very story!**

**Note that he has requested and received permission from me to do so.**

**And to those who were wondering about the 'circle' thing regarding Vacuo royalty: It was a reference to the inbreeding in the Spanish king's dynasty.**

**The house of _Habsburg_ (Casa de Austria) to be exact.**

**You will find that most of the chapters now have some things added or corrected now, including omakes from chapter 3 onwards!**

**So far, the Omakes range from chapter 3-11, with some more to be added.**

**The most major additions and changes can be found in chapters 3, 4, 5, 8 and 12, with more dialogue and worldbuilding.**

**I hope you enjoy the changes and I apologize for the delay, as university has started once more.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 23: The ball rolls

Nora was not having a good day.

The video sent into their awesome little chat group had sent both rage and multiple questions through her brain.

First of all, why were those people the way they were? They seemed more like some generic evil people rather than people with actual personality traits. Kinda like Cardin when they first had the displeasure of knowing him.

Though now he was a better person, as he had seen his flaws and worked on them. So why were those two the way they were. Sadism? Jackassery? Sociopathy? Following a Sociopath because it was the cool thing to do?

Either way, Nora was proud of her Fearless Leader, who had lashed out against them.

There was also the second part of it all, which had displayed Jaune slowly trying to find the courage to reveal his not-so-secret to his friends.

What kind of friends, what kind of huntsman would they be if they gave him grief over transcripts that could be so easily embellished? Arslan's words, not hers.

Transcripts fail to take into account vital personality traits for huntsman, like selflessness of courage in the face of the Grimm. They can't quite capture the heart of one. Sure, they were angry at first, but they would be angrier if Jaune hadn't tried at all to catch up, meaning the students would cut him some slack.

Hell, the teachers weren't expelling him and Jaune-Jaune was practically endorsed by Ozpin! It could officially count in a court if people would question her Fearless Leader's qualities. And _not a one_ was as good at leading as him.

_Remnant_.

The memory of the queen of the castle being demolished was not fun. She hadn't really expected Jaune to be that good!

Where was she going with this?

Right, the video! Nora just wanted to huddle with her team in a bunch of blankets in a huge cuddle pile. But first, there was something she had to do…

"Rennie!"

"Yes?"

Smooch!

"Ah! Batteries full!"

And her mood lifted as well! Ren was standing there in the hallway blushing lightly, still getting used to the sudden change in their relationship.

"Do you think that these people will follow through, Rennie?" the bomber asked, slightly worried in regards to their threat.

Ren shook his head. "They would be foolish to do so. Jaune is protected by the Beacon legislation and headmaster Ozpin himself. It would probably cause a public debate at worst. And that is if we don't manage to suppress it."

"Don't you mean the teachers?"

The ninja wordlessly opened the door to their dorm to reveal their amazon teammate stroking Milo with an unsettling expression.

"Don't you worry at all, all will be fine. And if they want to act, you will taste human blood. You want that, right, Milo? Yes, you want that."

The door closed. "This is why I wanted to go out today, Rennie."

/-/

Coco was moping, just a little.

Their shopping date turned sour thanks to Tweedle-Ass and Tweedle-Shit, rendering the romantic atmosphere unsalvageable. Sure, it could have been recuperated when he actually confessed his wrongdoing to her, but she had more class than use his emotional vulnerability for her own gain.

Hey, at the very least she got herself a proper birthday present for Ruby! At least that was something. You know, besides the vast amount of new clothing for Jaune, especially that nice top with the red-black collar.

So there they were, smiling at a midday well spent, sitting in the Bullhead back to Beacon, surrounded by several shopping bags.

"Ah, what a trip! Though I would have liked to stay a little longer." Her shopping trips usually took longer than a mere few hours.

"I'd rather not. Pretty sure there'll already be rumors floating around. You know the rumor mill."

True. "You can't tell me that you didn't enjoy it," Coco replied with a cocky tone.

"I did, but that's not the point," was the reply. "Though more than a few weird rumors, I fear.."

The bullhead had touched down and the doors started to open. "Well?" Coco inquired.

"Mr Arc." Ah, there was the answer. Glynda Goodwitch stood there, her stern scowl firm in place, but without her riding crop in hand. How unusual; she always had it in her hands when she was about to discipline the students.

That sentence gave Coco images that were not quite unwelcome, but still a little weird.

"Um hello?" Jaune was still a little scared when Miss Goodwitch had her 'game face' on, despite getting to know her as a person.

"I hope you enjoyed your free period," the discplinarian said before getting to business. "Headmaster Ozpin wants to see you on an urgent matter."

Coco froze. That sounded foreboding and menacing. "Why?" the knight asked.

"I am not allowed to say."

Yeah, _that _didn't sound ominous. Did they fail? Was Jaune compromised? Did he have to leave to escape the fallout with the general populace?

Jaune himself seemed hesitant and frightened by whatever Ozpin wanted from him.

"Alright."

Coco winced, but made no move to dissuade him from refusing. Whenever Miss Goodwitch came to drag you to the headmaster's office, you better have a very good reason not to come along. "But I bought some clothes and have to bring all this to my room first."

"Very well," the good witch conceded. "But hurry it up."

Oh wow, that worked! Why did she never allow her to do it?!

Oh right, teammates/pack mules. Whoops.

/-/

"That's a lot of clothes."

Nebula was rather dumbfounded at the amount of shopping bags her unsuspecting crush was carrying to his dorm. She herself was just going back from training when he came around the corner looking like a walking pile of bags.

"Coco, why aren't you helping me?" He sounded strained.

"Oh? Too heavy?" Coco teased.

"No, too many! I'm losing grip!" Indeed, a bag was slipping out of the pile, which would have gotten in front of Jaune and made him trip, were it not for Nebula Violette to the rescue with deft hands and feet!

She just nabbed the bag from the floor in front of him and knocked for him on the door.

"Hey, Jaune," the violet-haired girl made herself known. "Out shopping?"

"Yeah," he grumbled. "Coco helped."

"That I did." The minigunner appeared, looking really smug behind her sunglasses. "And I made him look good."

"Thanks again for that. Erm, the door..?"

Out of the dorm Pyrrha appeared, summoned by the knocking and the felt presence of her beloved leader. She saw a smug rival, a troubled rival and a moving mountain of bags.

"Oh dear. Jaune wait, let me help." The spartan took some of the bags off of him with Neb stepping up to lessen the load as well.

"Really, Coco, why didn't you help?"

"It counts as training," the fashionista shrugged off, not admitting that she couldn't come up with a better excuse for him skipping out for today, lest his partner was on his back again. "Oh, and Jaune has to go up to the headmaster's office."

Both Nebula and Pyrrha exchanged worried glances. What was going on?

"I don't think I'm in trouble," the blonde exclaimed after loading off the last of the bags and showing off his new clothing. "At least, I can't remember doing anything wrong the last few days."

Still, getting called up to the headmaster was rarely a good thing. Everyone knew that once you get called into his personal domain, it was _business_.

"In any case, let us know what happened, okay?" P- no wait, _Nebula_ pleaded before Pyrrha could! The spartan pouted, feeling like the crossbow wielder just stole her line.

"Will do. Oh, perhaps we could have a relaxation day?" Jaune asked, getting curious looks. "You know, this week was pretty eventful, and Ruby's birthday is tomorrow. So, after the excitements of this week, how about we just hang out and relax? All of us."

Coco grinned at the idea, Neb nodded along and Pyrrha smiled. "It's not like there is anything else to do, with the tournament postponed and all. Count me in."

"Great! Coco, thanks again for the help."

"No problem and thanks yourself."

"Pyrrha, I'll see you later."

The spartan nodded and smiled, sensing opportunity. Also admiring his new set of clothes. They fit him, she would give Coco that.

"Nebula, see you tomorrow."

"Save me a dance," his fellow team leader replied as she strutted back to her team's dorm, eager for a sitrep from her teammates. She hadn't looked at her scroll at all, instead wanting to hear it from them directly.

/-/

The elevator blinked and the door opened. Out came Jaune with his newest duds into a room full of adults.

General James Ironwood, a muscular man with gray streaks in his black hair, fixated him with an unreadable stare. He was imposing, even while sat down.

Opposite of him sat a woman who could double as Weiss' twin, but...well, _filled out_, shall we say. Also rather tall, as far as Jaune could judge. She did seem much like Weiss.

A relative, perhaps?

Ozpin sat at a rather small table compared to his desk, built up in the middle of the room. His expression seemed mildly amused, but expectant.

Miss Glynda Goodwitch was standing apart from the three figures in the middle of the room, her eyes seeming to hold worry.

Next to her stood a tall, broody looking man with a stubble, black hair and red eyes. Jaune also very much noticed the fuckhuge sword on the guy's back along with the slightly judgmental stare.

Unbeknownst to the blonde, Qrow Branwen was moping internally. He had just been given one _hell_ of a dressing down by his niece, who was incensed and hurt that her father and her uncle came all the way to Beacon to save her from a danger that didn't even exist. She was about to turn 16, for Oum's sake, she drank milk and Yang had the presence of mind to give her the talk so no one could take advantage of her.

Also to stop her from crying and freaking out when menstruation started, but that's life.

Neither Qrow nor Tai were allowed back into Ruby's good graces until they apologized to Jaune _and _gave her a very expensive present for her birthday.

This was only the second reason why the Branwen was here. The first one was a more precarious situation…

"Ah, Mr Arc. We have something to discuss," Ozpin opened, not ominous at all.

"You wanted to see me?" Jaune replied, very much nervous.

The headmaster smiled at him. "First off, some introductions. You may know General James Ironwood, headmaster of Atlas."

The imposing man nodded at the blonde, still with that gaze fixated on him.

"This is Specialist Winter Schnee. As you might have guessed already, she is Weiss' sister."

The Atlesian Specialist rose quickly and made to shake his hand. "My sister told me about you."

"Unflattering things, I imagine," jaune chuckled, very much knowing about the first impression he left on Sno- _Weiss._

Dammit, he almost slipped up again.

"Her impression of you seems to have bettered as of late," Winter commented before sitting back down.

"Qrow Branwen, Ruby's and Yang's uncle and one of my best agents in the field."

"Flattering," the dusty old crow mumbled before taking a swig. Heavens, one could get drunk from the stench alone. "Hey, kid."

No other words were exchanged between the two, yet Qrow still seemed to judge his every move in silence.

"To ease the tension you must be feeling, Mr Arc, I have prepared a little something. A boardgame, for leisure."

"I do not think your student will be able to best either me or you at this game, Ozpin," Ironwood spoke up, turning to face the headmaster of Beacon.

Ozpin just smiled. "I heard some rumors about Mr Arc's prowess at this game. I assure you it will be fun, James."

Jaune just sighed. "Alright. I guess it should be somewhat relaxing."

Winter was playing as the fourth party, taking the side of Mistral, Ozpin taking Vacuo, Ironwood and Jaune playing as Atlas and Vale, respectively.

"Mr Arc," Beacon's headmaster began as he drew his first hand. "We have heard about your semblance and it's properties from Miss Goodwitch. It is quite remarkable."

"Quite," Ironwood concurred as he made his first move. "It is why this particular matter must be handled with care and secrecy."

The blonde blinked, dumbfounded at both the statement and the general's aggressive playstyle. "You make it sound like I'm gonna become a secret agent."

"You will be a secret bearer, of sorts, Mr Arc." Ozpin went next, going clockwise. "We have an injured VIP on the premises and believe that your semblance can help..."

/-/

Jaune, full of troubling information he was sworn to keep secret, was mulling over everything on his elevator ride down.

Amber Autumn, severely injured due to an assassin attack, Aura depleted and unable to regenerate by itself, would die without his help.

Amber would need his semblance to heal from her injuries and eventually wake up from her coma. They would need to conduct the procedure tomorrow morning, when Jaune was well rested enough.

Jaune noticed a few extra buttons in the elevator as it stopped, pressing the lowest one for fun. It didn't work.

'_Huh._'

The door opened with Jaune briefly forgetting the troubling info, mumbling over that one button useless button instead.

Jaune had left the office, or rather his opponents, in a state of disarray. Winter was numbly staring at the piece of cardboard while Ozpin was sat at his desk with his face lying upon it.

Ironwood reacted the worst. He tried to smash his head in using a wall.

"That was...something," Glynda commented, while Qrow was watching Jimmy hurting himself in confusion.

/-/

Unknown to Jaune, his musings were overheard by Cinder, who so happened to pass by.

'_A button hidden in the elevator. Of course,_' she mused. Finally, the Fall Maiden was within her grasp. However, with the heavy hitters guarding her, it would be suicidal to take her now.

She had to bide her time and hope that Amity Arena would be fixed soon.

Power was within her grasp.

All she needed now was a little more patience.


	24. Chapter 24: Not so silent night

**Hello!**

**University and writing are slowly being brought under the same hat, despite either my keyboard or my fingers not functioning the way they should be. Hence some spelling mistakes.**

**I should warn you right away; once this chapter is done, I'm starting on what will probably be the biggest chapter yet published in "The strange library".**

**It will probably take me a whole week doing that one, just like it took me far too long pushing the newest chapter of "strange tales of Remnant" out.**

**As well as this one.**

**And I'm sorry for that.**

**...At least that was the plan until I said "screw it" and decided to push out a total of 3 chapters until christmas! Make of that what you will.**

**On a related note, have an extra large chapter as compensation for the wait.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 24: not so silent night

The day had come!

Ruby Rose, finally 16 years of age, was ready for the best birthday party ever! And since it was happening on a weekend, there was no schoolwork to do!

"Happy birthday, baby sis!"

The reaper started pouting as she glared at her sister. "I'm not a baby anymore! I'm 16 now, Yang!"

Yang cooed all over her. "D'aaaw, you'll always be my baby sis!"

"Yaaaang!"

Blake and Weiss smiled at the interaction while simultaneously rolling their eyes. They themselves had been preparing for the party a bit. Weiss, of course, had made herself responsible to decorate the location appropriately while Blake followed the directive of her team leader. The party was supposed to be a costume party, so anyone was to appear in costume of any variety, as long as they weren't _filthy_ of course.

This meant that Blake had to can her initial idea of going as seductive kunoichi and curb the adjective in favor of a more wholesome state of dress. She had also ordered the costumes for the others at their behest, meaning that Weiss ended up going as 'Enslaved Princess' complete with chains – something she protested against vehemently and loudly.

Yang had almost managed to manipulate Blake in such a way that the blonde would end up as a walking assortment of visual puns. The cat faunus was having none of it and – in mild spite and jest – got her partner a costume resembling a caped heroine in one of Jaune's comics, thinking that Yang would be disappointed. It backfired a little bit, with her partner actually liking the ensemble.

Ruby was stuck with an outfit Weiss generously paid for. It made the reaper and cookie lover resemble a rose bush with all these roses everywhere on the deep dark green and red dress. It might be a chore to wear, but _damn_ if the birthday girl wasn't looking pretty in it. Plus, she actually adored the thing.

Her costume name was 'flower girl', according to Yang. Everyone just groaned at that, with Weiss somewhat happy that Jaune was nowhere near them. She heard of Yang's tendency to pounce on her fellow blonde whenever he showcased his…_appreciation_ for bad comedy. Besides, she had her own plans for the goof…

"Oh! Neptune and Scarlet are out!"

Yang and Ruby blinked at their black-clad team mate in surprise. "Hold up," Yang started. "Are those rumors true then?"

"Seems that way," was the answer as she showed the message proclaiming the two to be an item. This meant that there were two less people in this competition of theirs, which suited Weiss just fine. It was difficult, near impossible in fact, to go up alone against several teams of girls, alongside Ren with Team NPR, hence why their alliance to conquer a certain blonde dolt's heart was necessity.

At least that was what Weiss' logical side called it. Truth be told, she was scared of being alone again; her sister off in the military, her brother brought up to resent her, her father playing the house tyrant and her mother getting drunk. She was scared of returning to such a family again and her heart welcomed the potential for a much more loving environment.

"The Butt Pirate has conquered the Seven Seas!" Yang proclaimed between laughs.

Yes, she could definitely see it. Bad jokes and all.

/-/

While an assortment of people were preparing for a very sweet 16th birthday, a group of adults had met in secret in hidden chambers below, awaiting the last two of their number for this congregation. As the elevator made a sound, headmaster Ozpin emerged alongside one rather nervous Jaune Arc. While the latter was looking around in bewilderment, inspecting the entirety of this strange room, Ozpin was far more subdued in his excitement. Where his student displayed genuine surprise with a touch of bewilderment, he himself was full of equal parts anticipation and worry. Best case, the maiden would reawaken and perhaps even point out the identities of her attackers, which would turn Mr Arc into an invaluable asset. Worst case, whoever attacked her laid a trap, sapping the young man's aura away, or -more likely – the procedure could cause some kind of overload, killing the patient.

Too many variables were accounted for. Mr Arc's semblance had not been tested thoroughly. Ozpin, however, was running out of time to save the maiden, and he truly didn't want to resort to the final measure.

Jaune had stepped forward, an even stride, despite his nervousness at discovering such a spacious room even existed. Before him stood waiting General Ironwood, the uncle of half of Team RWBY and Deputy Headmistress Goodwitch. Both the former and the latter had faces set in stone to mask their own nervousness, with Qrow masking his own trepidation with a drunken sway. James, despite his militaristic attitude and usual brute-force-approach, resented having to rely on an untested semblance that could very well have detrimental effects on it's user. Oum knew that he wouldn't just go for it willy-nilly if it were one of his own students. Particularly one so strategically gifted.

"Mr Arc." Ozpin had finally broken the silence. "This is the reason why I asked you to be here."

The young knight stared into the pod the others stood in front of. Here, preserved in some kind of artificial coma, laid a young woman with tan skin, dressed in hospital garbs. A dark scar marred her otherwise fair face, dark and almost pulsing. The mere look of it was creeping Jaune out. "Who is she," he finally managed to ask.

"Her name is Amber," the headmaster explained. She is...a valuable agent of mine who ran afoul of some rather unsavory attackers."

Jaune looked closer at the scar on Amber's face. "It looks like Grimm."

"That is the unsettling part," Ozpin concurred. "While we don't know who the attackers were, they did something to her that keeps her aura drained. She seems to try healing something that is unable to heal on its own, namely that scar."

His student mulled over these words briefly before coming to a startling thought.

"She's dying...she is slowly dying." Jaune had grown slightly pale. If these people that did this to Amber were still around, who knew what kind of damage they would be able to do?

Ironwood made to speak this time. "Indeed." His voice sounded grave, his expression grim for a moment. "That is why you are here, Mr Arc. With you, she might have a chance."

These words had Jaune's mind racing a mile a minute. Him, helping her? Could his semblance do that? Bring someone back from such a close brush with death?

"I fully understand if you are reluctant to try, Mr Arc." Glynda recognized her student's sudden anxiety. She was fierce in looking out for her own students and would vehemently object if either Ozpin or Ironwood would force the young man to do this. "If you don't wish to do this, we can post-"

"I'll do it."

Goodwitch feared and expected this answer in equal measure. Jaune's desire to be a hero was the whole reason he was attending Beacon in the first place; in itself a reason and goal more noble than most others. All she could do was sigh.

"Are you certain, kid?" Qrow asked before the stern blonde could. "If something goes wrong-"

"I wanted to do something like this, dreamed of something like this my whole life; being a hero, saving someone." The young man's expression had changed from a face full of uncertainty and fear to one of pure determination. "I'm ready. Let me heal her."

The drunk swordsman was silently looking at the kid. He hadn't had much of a chance outside of watching him demolish people at a board game, though the kid had the same look on his face now as he had back then. He was determined, hell-bent on doing this, yet knowing the risks.

It reminded the old crow of his deceased teammate. That alone was dangerous. Summer had been going off to danger, while knowing the risks, one time too many. Yet Qrow couldn't help but see what his niece saw in the blonde.

'_Stupid blondes getting all the luck,_' he thought with mild amusement, even as Jaune approached the pod. It opened with the trademark hiss of machinery, giving the healer access to his newest patient.

Jaune was focusing on the task ahead as he concentrated his aura into his palms, Reaching into his very soul, he coaxed out his semblance once more before physically reaching out to Amber.

He hesitated, if only a bit. Where could he touch her? No, wait, that sounded wrong. Why did his semblance have to be used like this? It only made thins awkward right now! Still, Jaune found his courage again and settled with his hands over her wrists.

His aura seeped into her, his semblance activating and boosting her healing. No one said a word, the grown-ups merely observing. Ozpin watched the procedure intently, cursing his situation once again for the uncounted time. Ironwood was observing in silence, wondering if Mr Arc would appreciate a future job offer in the Atlas military, as a field medic at the very least; perhaps even his future successor.

Glynda eyed her tablet the entire time, keeping the respective Aura levels in check and staying ready to interfere. So far, everything was normal; his levels decreasing and hers increasing at equal pace. Yet, with every second past and every percent of Aura transferred, she became more and more uneasy.

Finally, Ozpin intervened. "That should be enough, Mr Arc." The headmaster's gaze met his deputy's and he asked the most important question: "How is she?"

Glynda presented the tablet to the men. "Her levels are at acceptable range now, but we will have to observe for further developments. It could very well be that.." She was reluctant to say so, yet she had to. "...she needs more than one transfer."

"We shall wait and see," Ozpin confirmed. "For now, enjoy your day, Mr Arc. And give my congratulations to Ms Rose, if you would," he added with a small smile before turning to Amber.

The general nodded to that. "You are dismissed, Mr Arc. If you all would excuse me now, I have a meeting to attend with students of Atlas." Two of them had requested a meeting with him on rather short notice, by letter no less.

Jaune simply nodded to them all and made to the elevator, the General following him to it.

As the elevator doors closed, Glynda allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief, making Qrow smirk a little at her, ready to tease the life out of her.

Within the small moving cabin, general and student stood side by side; the older mans posture relaxing slightly. He turned to the blonde next to him. Mr Arc stood a little slouched, seemingly drained, but not physically, more mentally so.

"Was it stressful to you, Mr Arc?" inquired Ironwood.

"A little," Jaune admitted. "But I'm glad I could help at all."

The older man nodded to that, pleased at hearing of such a quality in someone so young. "If Ozpin didn't say it beforehand," James refused to believe that the man would be so thankless as to repay such a service with a mere handshake and some nice words. "allow me to say that you have done the kingdoms a great service."

Jaune looked to the man in surprise. "She must be really important," he commented in a mild mumble.

"More than you can imagine," concurred James. "If you're looking for a job after graduation, Mr Arc, simply contact me personally. I will gladly have a place for you ready if you choose to do so."

The young man's eyes widened at that offer. It was generous, far more generous than he thought he deserved at the moment. Sure, whatever Ms Autumn and, by extension, his teachers seemed to be involved in was something way beyond his knowledge, but still!

"I would have to think about that, General. But thank you for this offer," Jaune replied, stiffening a little into a straight stance. "I-erm, how do I-nevermind." Visibly nervous, he dropped the ball of this conversation, with James deciding not to pick it up again, particularly due to the fact that their ride just ended.

The doors opened with a hiss and the blonde charged out with a hasty "Gotta-go-good-day-sir", making the military man chuckle lightly as he wistfully remembered old days.

/-/

From morning to evening, Team RWBY and Team JNPR were working on preparing a party. It used to be a small gathering planned, but Nora let it slip to her new friends of Team NDGO, who gossiped around, and soon enough everyone was announcing the bringing of presents and themselves in costume. Coco had almost threatened to go extravagant, but was reeled in by Velvet and Yatsu, who would rather not see her in some catwalk-worthy insanity given form, which would have seemed like the brainchild of the most eccentric of designers.

Regardless, Ruby was ready. Dressing in her signature cloak, she cosplayed as an innocuous flower girl, complete with a basket. She was already daydreaming a little, even as warrior princess Weiss and walking-the-line-to-sexy gladiator Yang were busy positioning the table for the drinks just right.

Ruby Rose dreamed of selling her flowers until she caught the attention of a young, handsome knight. He would be complimenting her on her budding beauty, sweeping her off her feet to a little place all for their own as he would be touching and kissing her all over and start fondling her breasts as she moaned his name and fished out his co-

Whoa.

Ruby shook her head free of the sudden filth. Had she been infected? What was happening? She didn't know and could not expect the arrival of her puberty and subsequent "boy-crazy phase" like a rocket-powered Goliath on all of the Meth.

Blake, dressed as a ninja – because of course – went up to her, noticing the birthday girl's troubled expression. "Is something wrong?" Her voice was muffled by the typical mask.

"Hm?" Ruby looked to her teammate before starting to blush at thinking about _that_. Then again…

"Blake?" she hesitantly asked. "Is it normal to..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "...think about filth at random?"

The cat faunus' eyes widened a little before she drew down the frontpiece on her face. "It is if you're in puberty. Have you never…?"

Puberty? "But I _just turned 16!_" she whisper-yelled back. Ruby turned to her sister and partner in a sudden panic, looking if they overheard.

"I'm telling you, Ice Queen, the table is just fine here!"

"And _I_ am telling you that the table should go over there, where no one could bump into it at random!"

"Why did I agree to a big party again?" Ruby mumbled in uncertainty.

"Yang," was Blake's answer. The blonde would be damned if her sis didn't get her own Sweet Sixteen. Her own had consisted of almost setting fire to Signal and punching some guy in the 'nads. In her own words, best birthday ever.

"Okay, so back to your concerns," Blake said. "It is entirely normal to have such thoughts, Ruby."

"But.." She looked apprehensive, which made her even more adorable due to her getup. "But they're about Jaune. What if he doesn't like me thinking things like this?"

Her teammate couldn't help but smile. "He's a boy, Ruby. He won't mind."

"You think?"

"I'm certain." _'__I checked when he was still recuperating from a hangover_.'

"For the last time, Weiss!" Yang sounded fed up. "This isn't a high-class social gathering! You're making Ruby nervous!"

"I just want to give her a good birthday!"

"Then maybe don't invite half the fucking school!"

/-/

The inside of James Ironwood's office was not a place to be for the weak and guilty-hearted. The headmaster's scrutinizing gaze was oft enough to coax all but the most adept of liars and cheats into compliance.

Right now, that gaze was leveled at two students of Atlas, who arrived as part of the social retinue and weren't actually scheduled for the Vytal festival itself. The Atlas council insisted on their attendance in any shape, however, as the two were to make hashing out trade deals between Vale and Atlas easier due to connections of their families.

Shwartz Kutte and Fuchsia Sarn.

"And you are certain?" The general couldn't quite believe their words. They stated that young Jaune Arc had cheated his way into Beacon using forged battle transcripts, speaking even in the name of several other students of Atlas, who would endorse his immediate expulsion. Worse yet, other students and, reportedly, even the staff of Beacon were in on it. They had actively hindered communications with Ironwood, making sure that the one person appointed with the safety measures of the festival wouldn't exert his authority in that regard or even bring this matter to public attention.

So far their own theories on the matter.

"We're certain, general," Mr Kutte confirmed. "It was, at least for a day, a highly discussed topic among the students at large."

Part of James thought that the boy sought some sort of revenge after whoever had dared to dress up Mr Kutte like a chicken. Though Ms Sarn's brief occupation of the infirmary was news to him. Perhaps they did indeed speak the truth instead of trying to get someone unjustly into trouble. Nevertheless…

"Those are serious accusations." Ironwood's tone made clear that the time for jokes was never present. "Do you have any solid proof apart from hearsay?"

That got the two before him to fidget a little, before the pinkette, Ms Sarn, finally admitted: "We do not, general. But you can still check with Ozpin himself!"

"That is still _headmaster _Ozpin, young lady," the general chided. "I will inquire about what you have just told me. If the allegations prove wrong, you two will have to face disciplinary action. Are we clear?"

The two nodded curtly, as expected from Atlesian high society before one of their council members.

"Very good. Dismissed."

The tow turned and left, a little hesitant in their steps. James could practically hear them ask themselves 'That's it?!', even if that was not 'it'.

He would have to schedule a meeting with Ozpin ASAP. Mr Arc's attendance at Beacon could correlate with the security breach at the CCT, and Ironwood would rather not take any chances.

/-/

Ruby had been quite nervous, come the evening. Many had confirmed their attendance at the very first large party Ruby was hosting, and the young reaper had felt increasingly anxious. It was only thanks to her own team and knowing the faces in attendance, all in costume themselves, that eased her nerves. It was even better that everyone congratulated her exuberantly or just subdued.

Colorful and wild was the best way to describe the current gaggle of students that had come to the reserved cafeteria. All kinds of costumes, to the simple and almost comically typecasted ones like Sun's banana costume and Scarlet's pirate getup to the references like Dew's angel getup and Nebula appearing like a star queen. Clarifying that she was cosplaying as the old Solitas goddess of the stars had Ruby herself starry-eyed. All those colors, all those forms and getups, and everyone was having a grand old time.

Very few had not been in attendance, citing different excuses. Cinder had a prior obligation, Mercury couldn't deal with crowds that well, and the small dark-haired huntress in Team CMSN, Mint, couldn't be found. She was off doing her own thing, or so Emerald stated. She had come dressed as a witch, complete with pointy hat.

Velvet, dressed like a typical magician from TV - fishnet stockings and fancy dress-leotard thing, whatever it was called – immediately went into face-off mode with her, the two staring at each other with narrowed eyes. It took Coco, herself dressed like a nun, to drag the bunny faunus off.

"Nice mood," commented Cardin the vampire. He had looked around a bit and found the atmosphere around here quite nice. Everyone was talking, some were off doing small party games and Teams NDGO and BRNZ were currently learning beer pong from Fox.

Yang brought alcohol, even if she barred Ruby from drinking any.

"Who picked the music?" Russel asked, mildly intrigued that dance music wasn't running yet. He came as a biker.

"Various suggestions were taken," rumbled a voice the guys hadn't heard in a good while. Team CRDL collectively turned to find Sage Ayana, the long absent member of SSSN. He looked…

"Wow, you look like shit," commented pilot Sky. "What were you even up to, man? You missed out."

Sage grumbled. "Don't wanna talk about it."

"Okay," Dove conceded. "Where's your costume.

After a brief silence, the sound of a facepalm was heard. "I knew I forgot something."

"Sage!" yelled a banana. "Man, what took you? And where's your costume?"

"Later," the dark skinned swordsman waved off. "First fill me in. What happened?"

"Let's see," Cardin started. "There was the annulment of the armistice..."

"Ah fuck."

"Yeah. Beacon was a battlefield for about a day." Russell nodded along. "Then Velvet fought Gwen over peanut butter, Jaune's parents came for a visit, he unlocked his semblance, Sun became a banana fetishist-"

Sage looked horrified. "Please tell me it doesn't mean what I think it means."

Sun just looked away.

"Oh, and Scarlet and Neptune are a thing now."

"Wh- how? What?! When?!"

"Dunno."

The doors of the cafeteria swung open violently, perfectly timed to the beginning of "I'm a bitch, I'm a lover" by Meredith Brooks as a brightly smiling Jaune Arc strode into the room, his team frozen in shock at the song.

"Who wants to hear about my religion?" he asked into the crowd that owlishly blinked back at him. He was dressed in priest robes and came with a high pointy hat on his head and some flimsily thin book in his hand.

"Okay," a grinning Nolan the Builder spoke up, just as he was planning to mix something. "What is it?"

With a prideful grin and a flourish of his arm, Jaune presented the front of the book in his hands.

It simply read "thighs".

"Sold!" yelled Coco with laughter in her voice as everyone had a great time seeing each other in equally strange getups.

Soon enough, the party was in full swing.

"Ey, what are you mixing?"

"Jaune, is it true that your nephew was here?"

"Where are my bananas?"

"Fuck your potassium!"

"I'm the magician here!"

"Yeah, right. Being a bunny doesn't make you one."

"Why can't everyone just get along for one night?"

"Woo, my song!"

"What is that song?!"

"Oh my Oum!"

"That is 'Screw you gently'!"

"Don't corrupt the Rubaby!"

"Yang! I! Am! 16!"

Jaune strode forward towards the pouting birthday girl as various more people went about with drinks in hand, singing along, dancing or just generally playing in their costumes.

"Fuck!"

"Ha! My points!"

"No, seriously, Nolan, what the hell is that?"

"I wanted to see the tiny baby."

"Never pegged you for someone who likes babies, Roy."

"They're adorbs! I wanted to smoosh his chubby cheeks!"

"Hey Ruby." She turned around to see her crush beaming down at her, as tall as ever, perhaps even more now. "Your present."

A tiny package was handed to her, reminding the partygoers that they had some for her as well. Ruby didn't even wait and just tore into it, only to reveal something Beowolf-shaped.

Her eyes widened considerably. "Is that..."

"Your very own onesie, yes," he grinned down at her. "I commissioned my sisters for this and it came via express just on time. I got mine on my sixteenth as well, so..."

Ruby didn't wait for him to finish, started laughing charmingly and hugged him. "I love it! It looks great and it's so like you to give me such a thing." She beamed up at him, making him blush just a little.

"Oh, me next, me next!"

"Oh my Oum, you suck at this."

"Nolan, this looks like black tar."

"Fucking give me my bananas, you bitch!"

"Bite me!"

"Hell yeah, this is my jam. Dance with me, Ren-bear!"

"Nora, stop pulling."

"Wonder if my song comes up."

"What did you even put in, Cereal Girl?"

"Do you know 'Get Down With The Sickness'?"

"...you're joking."

"Yes. It wouldn't be fitting of a birthday party, so I chose 'You got that'."

"Really?"

"I succeeded!" yelled out Nolan, holding up a cup of black liquid. "I recreated the Nigrum Ex, Remnant's strongest drink!"

"What is even in there?"

"Glad you asked, Reese! We have in there Scotch, Cider, red wine, Whisky, Vodka, Tequila, Rum, something called Araq, spirit and a drop of Ethanol."

"What the fuck."

"It's the best thing in the world."

The music changed, and a techno beat came up.

"Yes, my song!" giggled Pyrrha, to the amusement of everyone present. "Jaune, dance with me!"

"Hell yeah," the blonde brawler concurred. "Everyone, dance!"

"Can't believe that's her taste in music, holy shit."

"Well, it's a good song. Better than most others out there."

Sage, Jaune, Cardin, Yatsu and Sun decided to make everyone's day. They knew the dance routine – Jaune practiced it with them when he found out about it being in the playlist – did away with the more cumbersome of the costumes, if briefly, and just went.

Laughing and hollering followed, with Brawnz joining in and Ren being thrown to the group, Nolan standing at the side drinking his concoction from hell as Octavia recorded the whole thing. It was even better as Cardin turned out to be a lightweight and danced around like an idiot even as the music ended.

Pyrrha, the archaic Mistralian warrior, laughed along, now sporting her own drink. Her smile was the second one this evening that left Jaune blushing and with a weird feeling.

He did not see lioness Arslan sneaking up on him.

"Gotcha," she laughed as she slung her arms around his neck from behind. The contact made him blush some more. "Enjoying yourself?"

He tried to ignore the fluttering feeling in his chest as he saw Ars smile at him, eyes sparkling. It was no use.

"Yeah, though I want to know something."

She cocked her eyebrow. "Oh?"

"What is Sun doing?"

They looked over to the banana man chasing a hysterically laughing Brawnz in gorilla costume making away with a hand of bananas, a bigger banana on his tail.

"Being jealous or trying to free his kin, one of those things," she commented, making him laugh.

"Jaune," she said, voice suddenly serious, even as she eyed Ruby getting a detachable scope for her weapon. "Could we..."

"Whoo, hey Jaune!" suddenly yelled Gwen, staggering while smiling at him, ignoring the lion's angry glare. "There are two girls here that I haven't seen before. Do you know them?"

Jaune had a hunch, but said simply "Depends" while looking out for…

Yup, the Malachites were there, antagonizing Yang a little. They dressed as angel and devil, according to their color schemes. Jaune just sighed.

"If you'll excuse me," he grumbled out, making Arslan release him. "I'll have to make sure they don't get murdered."

While he did that, the party went on.

"You fucking blocked me!"

"On purpose!"

"Oh wow, this is actually pretty good."

"I like you, 'cause you got that something..."

"Could you fucking not?"

"Ow! What the hell, that was my eye!"

"I'm sorry, I panicked!"

"How do you panic at beer pong?!"

"Relax, Yang, I know them. Mel, Mil, please behave."

"Okaaay."

"I can't believe Cardin's a fucking lightweight."

"Look at him. Out like a light."

"What the hell is that song?!"

"Take me hooome..."

"We're not doing that!"

"Country rooooads..."

"Oh god, here we go."

"To the plaaaace..."

"I belooooong..."

"WEST VIRGINIAAAA!"

Laughter filled the room already.

"MOUNTAIN MOMMAAAA!"

"Where is that song from?"

"It's from the frontier town called..."

"Take me hoooome"

"Virginia."

"Country rooooads."

Everyone was laughing while a mildly pissed off Sailor Dew demanded a change in music.

Jaune looked around, and the more he did, he noticed how he reacted to the smiles and happy faces of the people around him. Particularly the girls seemed to set off something within him. This fluttering, warm feeling he felt; he knew what it was. The problem now was how often it happened.

Yang. A radiant smile, eyes sparkling a beautiful lilac. The life of the party.

Pyrrha. Angelic and warm in expression.

He started to feel unsettled.

Melanie. Used to be so shy, but grew and blossomed. Always clung to him.

Miltiades. Confident, yet not condescending, never condescending, at least towards him.

His heart started to beat faster.

Arslan. Shining olive eyes, only slightly pushing, with endearing cheek.

Reese. Spunky, upbeat, yet not fussy. Always mindful of others, even if she didn't seem that way.

A cold sweat ran down his back. '_What's wrong with me?_'

Gwen seemed so...and Dew was...Blake is...and Weiss…

And Nora and Nebula and Octavia and Glynda and Ren and Emerald and Cinder and Coco and Velvet and…

and…

and…

'_I need some fresh air._'

Thus, the blonde escaped unnoticed by the partygoers, who started to dance and sing along while others laughed at those that drank too much.

"BANANAS!"

"AAAARGH, MY FACE!"

/-/

Neo hummed in silence as she strolled around the mostly empty school. She could hear the commotion in the cafeteria and didn't think much of it. Sure, she would have loved to swing by and make some mischief, but chances were that Jaune would potentially blow her cover. She couldn't quite risk it with so many hunters-in-training there, particularly Team RWBY, whose blonde potentially held a grudge against her.

Normally, this wouldn't have bothered her, were it not for her massive crush on Jaune. He was like a wonderful ball of sunshine, someone she wanted to protect so badly. Besides, he went along so easily with even her stranger whims.

Speaking, or rather, thinking of the blonde, she suddenly spotted him in the empty Botanics classroom pacing around wearing some odd robes. Was this his costume for the night?

He was mumbling unintelligibly to himself and seemed rather stressed out. So, who was Neo not to calm her adorable big pupper down.

Sure, it was a human pup who she wanted to smoosh between her breasts, but…

Well, there was an idea.

A knock at the door alerted the blonde to the shortstack's presence, who greeted him with a small smile instead of her trademark smirk. "_What's eating you?_"

"Hey," he mumbled, before turning a bit away from her and sighing.

"Neo, have you ever been in love?"

Her eyes lit up. What was he...was he…?!

Okay, play this calm, this is your first time confessing as well, you got this, Neo!

"_I am right now, actually._"

"Oh," he replied and nodded. "Do you think..." He swallowed heavily.

"Do you think it's normal to love more than one person?"

Neo was shocked, but soon had to hide an incredulous laugh before hiding a genuine smile. Of course, of course it would play out this way.

'_Because why the hell not? Hey, at least life would be real interesting that way. Now, to comfort him and maybe…_'

She made a handwave before giving him a normal look. "_Why be normal? You only seem normal, but beneath that, you are so much more._"

She was on a roll as he hung on her every word. "_You are fun to be with, kind, sweet and mindful of others, and you know what?_"

Before he could answer, she lunged forward to capture his soft lips.

For seconds, she stayed that way, hanging off of his torso as she mashed her lips against his. Then she separated off of him to give him another smirk.

And thanks to being not as oblivious anymore, he knew exactly what was going on.

**(AN: The following section contains NSFW material aka smut. Viewer discretion is advised.)**

Her lips connected with his again, yearning for the feeling. She liked this, she loved this! He squirmed a little, but pressed back against her, beginning to move his lips, capturing her lower lip.

Neo's breath quickened. Her patience was running thin, and she wanted him, all of him, right now. Her tongue started to worm its way out of her mouth and between her lips, pressing against his, licking him a little. His breathing became deeper; he started to be really into it. Grabbing her rear, he started to walk towards one of the benches to lay her down. He did so with difficulty, as he opened his tongue to take a gulp of air a little away from her, only for her to reconnect again, ravaging his mouth with her tongue.

The pleasure, the innate intimacy was almost overwhelming. He briefly lost himself in her, just standing there, tonguing out her mouth, him dancing with her, swapping saliva with increasing fervor and lust. Her chest started pressing against him as she rubbed against him. Desperate for more of him, she wanted to be away with that damn robe.

He obliged as he finally set her down on the bench, almost tearing the offending fabric off of him as he all but threw himself onto her. Like a man starving and dying of thirst encountering an oasis full of fruit ready for eating and fresh water, he clung to her, rubbing his crotch against hers.

Neo separated a little from him, only to pull the top of her attire down, revealing her breasts to him.

He knew what do to. Kissing and massaging the mounds gently, he gave the occasional lick to her nipple, making her moan and lurch and writhe in growing pleasure.

She had to pull Jaune off of her breasts to signal him what she wanted to do next. Her foot pointed to his pants, sporting a bulge that seemed almost painful to contain.

He undid the button and unveiled the monster.

Neo's eyes changed from a briefly shocked white to a deep, lustful purple. Quickly, she stood up to remove that pesky leotard, being in her way. Jaune helped her, kissing her again, his tongue dancing around hers as his erection throbbed in overwhelming lust for this girl. He wanted her, he _needed_ her, and damn the consequences!

Her attire joined both the discarded robe and his top on the floor, the two lovers now revealed to each other. Jaune took the time enjoy the view, something Neo noticed and threw herself into pose for. Her skin flawless, her figure shapely, her thighs seemed heavenly.

He grabbed at them, pulling her towards him. His sword started pressing against her sacred place, making her whimper inwardly at what was to come. He was big, very big, definitely bigger than the only other she had ever seen. Her partner then had been paid, and she only did it for the experience due to the potential of death involved.

Now? Now she did it for love more than lust, something that showed in her eyes. One of her irises started to color itself a deep cherry red, full of the love she held for him.

"I want you," he whispered, making her shiver in delight.

"And you know what?"

"_Yes_?"

"I… I think I love you."

Her heart jumped. She quickly signed. "_I love you too. Now that makes only one of the many you should say that to_." He breathed out deeply. He knew that. But would they reciprocate? Would they all?

"_It's okay."_ She held his face in her hands. "_No matter what, I will be with you._"

"_One more thing._"

He looked at her. He was getting a little impatient, she got that, but this was important.

"_I'm unable to get pregnant._" The admission made his eyes widen before he let out a gasp. She had sneakily wrapped her legs around his hips to pull him into her, making her whimper in delight.

"_Cum inside as much as you want, lover._"

His own lust, his own want took over, the love he started to feel for her overwhelming and shaping itself into his desire making him want to do this.

And damn the consequences.

He moved. Her whole body lurched upwards a little, she herself gasping at the surprising thrust. He was inside of her, he was so deep, and she felt wonderful!

It was so much better than everything else!

Her hips enthusiastically moved to meet his as he started thrusting more, his breaths deep and his gasps and small moans enticing her even more.

Her hands grabbed Jaune's head, kissing him deeply once more, amplifying the pleasure, playing to their desires.

Perhaps a little too much.

The both of them were wracked with this wonderful feeling of release as Neo's eyes shot open at the volume pumping into her.

She loved this feeling. She wanted this every day.

"Ready for round 2?"

Wait, what? Neo felt hims still hard inside of her, starting to thrust again, not waiting for her okay. She didn't mind; she liked it. She wanted more, so much more.

The two grew sweaty during their passionate lovemaking, him pressing into her, her meeting his hips with every swing, making them feel like they were flying.

The outside world didn't exist anymore, the struggles were all forgotten. Right now, just the two of them remained.

And they were hungry for each other.

Another orgasm tore itself free from the two bodies, Neo felt more filling her. Her mind started slipping away, tears of sheer and utter passion and lust filled her eyes.

"_I love this_" she signed to him. Her movements were sloppy, her mind delirious from all she had experienced just now. This was true passion, this was lovemaking.

And Oum, how she loved him right now.

He stayed within her, starting to move again.

Her thoughts started slipping away. A delirious grin showed as she breathed heavily through her mouth.

"Neo," he gasped. "You're so sexy." then he captured her mouth again, catching her tongue, swirling around it with his.

His thrusts didn't let up. Neo wondered just how long he could go and how long she could endure.

He grunted once more, and Neo's mind blanked.

Neither of them knew just how much time had passed since they begun, but looking at Neo, Jaune knew that their time was at an end, for now at least.

Her eyes had rolled up in their sockets, her tongue was lolling out, and her treasured place was leaking from her innermost depths, filled with his essence.

"Wow," he thought. Seeing her like this was a massive turn-on for him. Hell seing her in the throes of utter pleasure, feeling her like this, was such a turn-on to him.

But for now, he would have to restrain himself.

Right now it would be a better idea to get her back to her room...


	25. Chapter 25: bloodied moon and tiger claw

**HUE!**

**Surprise! It's time for the chapter you'll get for christmas!**

**After that I think I'm gonna get myself an account on Ao3 and start writing SMUT!**

**It's gonna be nice.**

**Anyway, time for some serious business. This chapter may raise several questions, which will all be answered in the next one.**

**I feel evil for doing this.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 25: bloodied moon and tiger claws

"Uuurgh, my head."

"That's what you get for drinking Nolan's stuff."

The day after the party was off to a slow start. Aside from being too early for any of this, Team RWBY had collectively not gotten any chance to land something solid with Jaune.

Ruby had clad herself in her new onesie, looking positively adorable. She was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and questioned why she had to rise so soon.

"Up and at 'em, everyone! We would do well to train!" Oh yeah, Weiss had gotten the brilliant idea. It was like the start of the year all over again.

"What's gotten into you, Weiss-cream?" asked the mildly hungover Yang. She drank Nolan's insane concoction, the perfect imitation of the Nigrum Ex, and ended up with a headache, a costume damp from spilled alcohol and no cute blonde to keep her company, on a pillow or otherwise.

Hindsight had proven that bragging to Pyrrha about the stolen body pillow was not the best of ideas. The spartan blew up, stating that it was theft, and wanted it back ASAP. She had to physically drag Blake to the dorm room door to unlock it and get it back. Blake herself had not been in the mood, being unable to locate the priest of the thighs. She would have liked to attend a sermon, if only for the hell of it and perhaps even a confession.

'_Forgive me, father, for I have sinned. I touch myself to you._'

Cheesy? Yes. Was it upfront and would get her point across that she wanted to touch him? Also yes. At this point Blake was running out of patience with all of this. She wanted him, and she wanted him now. The only reason why she didn't snuggle up with the blonde as they saw him napping away in the dorm room was spartan-shaped and not in the mood for this.

Shame. They could have pushed some beds together.

"What time is it?"

"It doesn't matter," the heiress interjected. "What matters is that we must always be vigilant for any situation."

"Weissy,"Yang couldn't help but snarl as she got a look at her scroll. "It's 4 in the morning!"

"Your point?"

"My point?!" Yang was _not_ up for this. "We are all tired and want to sleep. We partied hard, some more than others. And last I checked, this isn't the damn military!"

"I-" Weiss now seemed rather uncomfortable, fidgeting a little. "Truth be told, I feel uneasy today, right now. Like something is-"

Before Yang could reply with something that would assuage her teammate's fears, the universe seemed to deem it fit to reward Weiss for her sense of premonition. Alarms blared all over school, shocking several students out of their beds.

"Beacon is under attack! Grimm incursion! This is not a drill!"

Ruby and Yang stared slack jawed at the ceiling as their snowy teammate looked jubilant abouther hunch being correct, even if just for a small moment.

"Right." Blake was the first one up from the three still in their beds. "Let's get our weapons." She had a bad feeling about any of this right now. How could the Grimm even get close to the academy? Were the automated defenses defect?

"We should get Jaune up first," voted Yang. "Maybe he can do something about us being tired."

"We shouldn't be relying-"

Outside, even over the din of the alarms, the electronic crackling of speakers activating could be heard.

"Attention Beacon academy," a foreign voice yelled over these speakers, some sort of disdain in their voice. "This is the White Fang."

Blake froze on the spot, her breath hitching.

"To our faunus brother and sisters: fight alongside us. Redeem yourselves from working with these filthy humans and help us usher faunuskind in a new age."

Yang stared wide-eyed out of the window. "Seriously? Are they suicidal?!"

"To any other humans, we say this: Our vengeance has come."

Ruby spoke up first. "On second thought, this is too important. Let's get Jaune!"

/-/

Cinder had been awoken unpleasantly by not only the alarm, but also by the knowledge that the White Fang were attacking prematurely and the wrong target, releasing the captured Grimm either for a diversion or a first wave.

It didn't matter. What mattered right now was that Taurus was loose.

"Adam!" Cinder yelled into her scroll. "This is not according to plan!"

"My people have been denied for too long," the leader snarled back. "Consider our arrangement void, woman. We will send our message one way or the other."

The connection cut out and Cinder wanted to throw her scroll against the wall. "Change of plans!" she roared to no one in particular, the turned to a startled looking Emerald and Mercury with his game face on. "You two will get this" -she lifted her scroll for emphasis- "to the CCT and activate the virus. We can't override their protocols from there, but we can shut them down, making for a good enough diversion. I will use this to accomplish our goal. Hold out on the CCT and tell anyone who checks that you're guarding it. We are on limited time!" She turned to the door to tear it open. "Go!"

/-/

James Ironwood was not having a good day.

The nightshift on the airships had noticed the fleet of bullheads too late and tried to open precision fire onto the Grimm they dropped in Vale itself, only to be ordered to stand down. The risk of running collateral was too great, and Atlas' standing had been suffering due to the show of strength being considered excessive enough. It was the Atlesian Knights' turn to prove themselves to the populace. The bots opened fire onto the beasts, only for their limited caliber to do little to the older Grimm captured.

To top it off, it was 4 a.m. and he didn't have the patience for any of this. One would think that being in the military made you get used to waking up with not enough sleep but still be able to perform with full ability. One would be correct, though it didn't account for a foul mood.

"Get soldiers down there and the people out of these zones!" he barked towards the commsmen. "We need to minimize civilian casualties! Let us show them the might of Atlas!"

The men didn't cheer but nodded instead, determined to get the orders to the troops. For a while, all seemed to be in control in the city, but then fate reared its head and displayed its odd sense of humor.

Just as James wanted to phone Ozpin to inquire the state of the school, one of his men spoke up in alarm.

"Sir, we have a problem!"

Thank you, Captain Obvious. "What is it?!"

"The Knights are shutting down! Something is interfering with their programming!"

Ironwood could only snarl before he barked: "Where is this coming from?! Find me the source!"

"We're trying, sir! It seems to be a virus!"

A virus?! How could a virus be inserted into the system?

Then a cold feeling ran down the generals spine. "The CCT," he whispered in horror before yelling at his comms officer. "Patch me through to Beacon, NOW!"

/-/

Everyone even remotely combat ready had met up at the JNPR dorm for the express purpose of getting a pick-me-up in aura form. It had the blonde residing there winded and mildly rattled due to the early alarm. Of course, he wasn't the only one.

"It's too early for this shit!" complained Nora, Magnhild already in hand. Everyone else was agreeing in mutters or in silence, looking awake but annoyed. Out of all of them, Blake was the only one who didn't either look annoyed or eager to smack some assholes. No, she seemed agitated and close to panicking. To those who knew her personally, it came as no surprise.

"So, who's got a plan?" Neon asked into the group.

"We charge 'em and fuck 'em up!" proposed Brawnz.

"They have power in numbers," Jaune started to mumble, with everyone shushing others to listen. "We'll have to lock down the larger corridors to avoid being flanked. Heavy hitters to the front, artillery and support to the back. Maybe some fast skirmishers?"

"Counterpoint: We follow Jauney Boy's plan," Cardin proposed. "It's pretty sound."

"Wait, who elected him as our strategist?" a student interjected, which was countered by Ruby's exclamation of "His scores in Leadership Class!"

"Where are the teachers?" Ciel inquired, brow furrowed.

"That I can't truthfully answer," replied Weiss.

"Alright, split up evenly," Jaune now commanded, slowly immersing himself in a role as commander of the forces. "CRDL are mostly frontline, while FNKI works well form the backline. Form up together."

The two teams saluted and stood in a row.

"BRNZ has good balance with May as long range. SSSN can keep any stragglers or more agile people at bay. You two form up as well."

As such, the teams were grouped up. ABRN and CFVY went to hold a corridor together, while NDGO and PRCN, with Penny and Ciel on their team, went together. RWBY and JNPR, in part due to familiarity as well as synergy, made ready to hold a position. Yet, just as they made ready for the incoming onslaught…

"Blake."

The cat faunus stiffened as she heard the voice over a speaker.

The others were looking up. "Who the hell is that?" asked Dove.

"Come meet me in the cafeteria of this academy."

Blake wanted to dash towards it, with no regard to the situation or her own safety. The only thing stopping her was an aggravated Yang bearhugging her to keep her from running. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"I have to!" Blake yelled while squirming in the blonde's grip. "He is here because of me! This attack happened because of me! If I-"

"Oh, get off your high horse, will you?"

The faunus froze and looked towards Coco. "Look, I don't know what your relationship with Mr Stalker Type is, but you're running face first into a trap here," the fashionista explained with narrowed eyes behind her shades. "Also, do you honestly think that all these people are here for you? You're not that important, as hard as it sounds."

Yellow eyes looked downwards to the ground. "I...need to face him one last time. He is strong, stronger than anyone I know."

"Well, that's a challenge if I ever heard one," grinned Yang. "I'm coming with you. No chance in hell you'll face him all on your own, kitty cat!"

She was aghast. "Yang, I can't-"

"She can't," Jaune agreed and stepped forward, resolve filling him. "But I can. I will come with you to provide support and play tank. One man against us three will be easier."

"I-"

"Wait, Fearless Leader!" yelled the Valkyrie. "Who will fight with us on the front?!"

"We could help."

Everyone turned to see the speaker. Two identical twins in white and red and…

"The midget!" bellowed Yang, ready to throw down. "Why is she here?!"

Jaune looked at the three with mild concern. He knew that Neo could hold her own in a fight, but she was still a criminal in the public eye. Contrast to that, Mil and Mel counted as upstanding citizens with rudimentary training.

"We should let them help," Jaune decided.

"What?" Weiss yelled back. "Are you nuts, Arc?!"

"She's the enemy," Ruby concurred.

"What makes you think she'll help?" Yang added. She took a deep breath before continuing: "Look, I know you got faith in the twins, but her?!"

"Guys, she has bailed me out of a tricky situation once. She's good people, just trust me on this."

"Well, she fought against us! She's with Torchwick!"

"Yang, her name..."

Jaune was preparing his trump card with Yang. His fellow blonde had an eyebrow raised.

"...is Neopolitan."

The brawler blinked, once, twice. "Like the ice cream?"

"The very same."

Yang broke into an amused grin. "Well, I'm gonna milk this for all it's worth."

Weiss had enough of this. "Are you serious? We can't-"

"We better," Sun interjected. "We just ran outta time."

Sure enough, the White Fang stormed down the corridor the teams were gathered. They were wielding a variety of weapons, from simple cudgels and pistols to big swords and LMGs that seemed to be salvaged from Atlas. As a whole, they were screaming their battlecries and curses as they charged, with blood and vengeance on their minds.

"Advance in your assigned groups!" Jaune bellowed over the din. "Don't split off! Mel, Mil, Neo, you're with my team! We _will_ hold Beacon!"

The students roared back, readying for the clash in melee. Bullets were already flying, May and Ruby sniping the larger ones off balance to cause the mass of bodies to slow down. Coc was firing into the group, forcing a few to fall back due to their aura.

Jaune, meanwhile, ran after the Bumblebee duo as fast as he could, right towards what promised to be a boss battle.

/-/

Cinder was close. She could feel it in the stale air of the vault.

Her questions had all been answered as she managed to fry the system behind the innocuous little button in the elevator, granting her entry to her prize.

The distraction had been made. All pieces were in place. Let the White Fang die while she would just arrange for Amber to suddenly cease, gifting her the Maiden powers she sought.

Closer and closer she strode to the capsule that held Amber Autumn, closer and closer to her initial goal since she got here. A shiver ran through her. If all went without a hitch, she would be in and out without anyone noticing. She could return to the fray without raising too much suspicion, she could work on achieving a new goal with increased fervor!

All she had to do was take a life that she had doomed to begin with.

Her bow came to existence, her gripping the handle decisively as she nocked her arrow. The bowstring taut, her aim right at the doomed maiden's heart, she let loose. It flew, hissing through the air…

And stopped right in front of the pod.

Cinder's eyes widened in horror as her vermillion ones gazed into brown eyes, narrowed in ferocious anger.

"No..."

/-/

The three huntsmen-in-training arrived in the cafeteria as the sounds of battle raged outside. They could hear Port and Oobleck shouting at someone or something. However, most of ther attention was on the figure before them.

Red hair with black horns pointing out of them, black attire and a large katana at his side, his scowl accentuated by the mask he wore. This was the one who called them here.

"Adam," Blake gasped out.

"Blake," was his curt reply. "I see you haven't come alone. Scared to face me on your own?"

"Can you blame me?" she replied, trying to gain confidence.

"Do these humans even know who you used to be?" he asked as he tilted his head slightly upwards. "Do you think that this will help our cause? You know the price of betraying the White Fang."

A cold shiver ran through the cat faunus before she showed genuine anger. "The White Fang was a protest movement! When we thought we couldn't do more, we turned violent! But we didn't get respect, we got fear! This is why people turned away from the Fang!" She breathed heavily. "You ordered the kill on Tukson, didn't you?"

Adam leveled his gaze on her. "He was a traitor, turning his back on his brothers and sisters. We fight for a noble and just cause, Blake. We fight for Faunus superiority."

"This fight," Blake screamed back. "Was never about superiority!"

"Then you are as naive as I feared, my love."

"Wait, hold on," Yang interrupted the tense dialogue. "Love? Blake, are we fighting your psycho ex boyfriend here?"

The psycho ex took exception to being called that. In one swift movement, he dashed forward while unsheathing his sword, ready to fight the insolent blonde. His blade was halted by a shield bearing twin crescent moons. Even though the bearer had to shake under the force, the defense held.

Adam couldn't help but grumble in annoyance as he jumped back, evading Blake and Yang's attacks. This would not be an easy fight for him to win with swordplay alone.

And so the clash begun. Yang jumped forward, even as Blake yelled at them. "When he starts to glow, prepare to dodge! His semblance can cut through aura!" Gambol Shroud whistled through the air, clashing against Wilt again and again, the red blade moving faster than it should. It's wielder dodging Yang's punches, yet catching one to the shoulder.

"Wait, he has a sword beam?!" Jaune yelled back. This foe was something else. Crocea Mors barely grazed him, even when he coordinated himself with the attacks of the girls.

"What're you doing?!" Yang yelled at him. "We need you in the back more! You're support, dammit!"

"I have no range-" Jaune began before he remembered. His hand met the brawler's shoulder as his semblance activated. Power coursed through Yang's veins now, her breathing deeper as she relished the strength he flooded her with.

With this power-up, she charged the bull with a fierce punch. It was too fast and he was too occupied with guilt tripping Blake over leaving the Fang. Her betrayal had stung, yet not as much as that human's punch just now.

'_Where did that strength come from?_' he asked himself as the punch to his pectoral sent him flying a few feet back. Teeth bared, his gaze went up just as another punch came sailing towards his face. He dodged by a hair's breadth, jumping away again while his sword sailed upwards to slash his opponent. A brief spark and a grunt were his reward, with Yang now attacking with even greater ferocity.

This punch Adam was prepared for. The attack from Blake, he was as well. Stabilizing Wilt with both hands, he blocked both Ember Celica and Gambol Shroud, even as the force of the two attacks made the terrorist grunt in exertion.

His semblance was charged.

Backing off again, he now had to plan for the right time to use it. Kill one, even the odds. That was when he saw it; Blake had the hand of the blonde human male on her shoulder, the glow of his aura suffusing into her.

'_So that's how he contributes_," Adam surmised. He had his target.

Fencing the other insolent blonde away, her boost dissipating and leaving her feeling sluggish, Adam readied himself for his move. Wilt found it's way back into Blush and the menacing swordsman started to glow.

"Shit, dodge, dodge dodge!" Jaune was panicking a little.

"Stay calm!" Blake demanded. "If you dodge too early, you'll be an easier target- wait!" Her gaze wandered on Adam's presumed line of sight, his gaze seemingly firm on the blonde brawler. "Yang!"

Jaune moved before he could think. All his mind, his heart, his soul was filled with was the determination to protect those he held dear. His mind still in confusion whether or not he could love more than one, more than Neo, with whom he felt a deeper connection, more than Pyrrha, who was always there for him when he needed her, more than Blake, with her aloof attitude hiding a heart that cared almost too much, more than Yang, who he knew would jump to his defense just as he would just now.

He unknowingly played right into Adam's plan.

As the Moonslice tore itself into reality and Blake screamed out in horror, Jaune bolstered his own aura as much as he could.

The unstoppable force met the immovable object.

Jaune's aura shattered.

And the Moonslice broke, dealing no damage on the blonde's body.

Adam stared at the knight in disbelief.

"Still alive," he grinned at the swordsman, feeling cold, drained, and yet more alive than ever. His nerves were on fire, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

So he charged.

Adam could not recuperate from the shock fast enough. This had never happened before. How could his greatest technique fail?! How-

The tip of a sword knocked the wind out of his lungs. Even though his aura held, the strike came while he was off guard and was thus more a wound to his pride than his body. Lashing out in anger, Adam striked against the blonde, Wilt hitting that damnable shield again. Though now the bearer was without the power of his aura and was flung to the side, hitting a wall.

"Jaune!" The bumblebee duo shouted as one. The bull was off his game, his calm compromised, and he lashed out more than actually fought. He was off form and had difficulty returning to it while being assaulted from two sides. Yet, as he started to calm down and block their strikes more frequently, the floor exploded.

A hole in the cafeteria floor tore open, with two figures outright flying out of it, landing on opposite sides. Both of them frazzled, both of them glowing in fury.

Adam remembered his original objective now. He knew that tie was running out.

So he ran.

His original objective had never been to destroy Beacon, only to attack it right under Ironwood's nose. He knew that the Atlesian general would not dare fire on the school in fear of bad press and confidence in the students' abilities. Adam counted on Cinder launching her own distraction to achieve her nebulous goals, which would play in the hands of the Fang, who themselves had unleashed captured Grimm on Vale to distract Atlas.

It had never been about victory. It had been about the message.

"Even under your mightiest protection, you are never safe from the Fang," he whispered, basking in this victory, which would surely strengthen his hold in the Fang.

/-/

The students had successfully driven the terrorists back into the courtyard. The fresh recruits were all out of commission while the veterans fought for their retreat. Bullheads stood ready to bring them to the docks, where they would escape.

"Drive them back!" yelled Cardin, swinging his mace.

"Traitors!" yelled a White Fang at the Faunus students, who immediately wailed on him harder.

As the Fang reached near the Bullhead, one of them called out "Smoke!", and within seconds, smoke grenades exploded, robbing students of their sight.

Neon could barely see a black-clad bull faunus rushing from behind them, running towards the Bullheads. The cover started dispersing as the bullheads started their engines and took off, flying low over the city.

"Can anyone get a clean shot?!" yelled Brawnz to Ruby and May.

"Too dark!" complained May. "I can't see a thing!"

Weiss turned around to their unexpected reinforcements as the students cheered for their victory. Melaine and Miltiades, as she learned their names, fought valiantly and brilliantly as a team while Neo was just as much of a menace as she remembered. Secretly, the heiress was glad she was on their side. The mute had smacked more than one faunus away who charged her with a "Kill the Schnee!" on their lips. She supposed the two had become acquaintances somehow, which was confirmed by the twins, to the more or less veiled dismay of everyone listening.

Her relief turned to worry as she realized that her teammates and Jaune hadn't returned yet. Their opponent was fierce enough for Blake to calm down only as two others joined her, her partner and one with an amazing support Semblance.

Worry turned to panic as she saw them charging out of the building. That is, only two of the three that went.

Cinder was in front of them, her Semblance blazing around her as she searched the illuminated courtyard for something.

"Where is he?!" she demanded, half in rage, half in worry herself.

"Fuck, fuck, where?!" Yang was not far behind her.

Pyrrha approached the three. "What's going on? Where is Jaune?!"

Blake looked to the horizon where she could hear the sound of Bullheads growing more and more silent while in the city itself the last of the Grimm perished to Atlesian valor.

"Taken," was all she could say, her voice ringing hollow.

The cheers stopped as everyone around stared at her. "What?" whispered Nebula. "what do you mean?"

Arslan approached, shock slowly turning into a grim expression. "He was kidnapped? How?"

"His aura broke," Yang supplied, her own arms now hanging there without any strength left as she looked to the others. "That guy, Adam, almost killed me. Jaune tanked the hit."

Nora and Ren stared at her in shock. Their leader, taken? Though just as everyone wanted to start asking questions, a voice filled with rage cut through the early morning air.

"Cinder Fall!"

General Ironwood was approaching, handgun ready, his gaze burning into Cinder. Both the cat and the blonde looked to her, now asking the question again why she was fighting that woman.

"Your co-conspirators have been captured." The general produced Emerald and Mercury, handcuffed and beaten, escorted by Winter Schnee. "Your attack has been foiled. Surrender, terrorist."

Cinder looked to the others, who stared at her in shock. None of them had expected her to be the mastermind behind it all.

Not a one.

Cinder had no choice.

Surrounded by enemies now and without any means to escape, she raised her hands in surrender.

/-/

Jaune awoke with a start.

He didn't know how long it has been since he had been knocked out by his impact with a wall – not the first one he had to note – though he did know that he was currently in a bed someplace.

Someplace that was decidedly not Beacon.

The biggest hint he had were the movements of everything around him. Without his aura, he had no choice but to endure his motion sickness to the fullest of his abilities.

He was unhurt, that much Jaune was sure of. Well, apart from maybe a minor concussion. His armor and hoodie were off, leaving him bare chested in this oddly comfortable bed.

"Urp!" The motion sickness got worse. He had to find a bucket, and fast.

"Drink this."

Jaune stilled. A low, commanding, female voice had spoken up while a brown-skinned hand held some medicine and a glass of water out to him. Jaune would rather not look the gift horse in the moth right now and did as he was told.

"Motion sickness, hm?" the voice said again. "Guess that makes two of us."

Wait, she had motion sickness, too?

As Jaune looked in the direction of his fellow sufferer and savior, he saw a tiger faunus. Clad in robes fit for a warmer climate was a tiger faunus with a single red dot on her forehead, lounging in a chair and looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Um."

"You're on a boat," she answered the unasked question.

Well that explains-

"A boat?!" Jaune repeated in surprise. "Why a boat?!"

"Because I had you kidnapped," she replied nonchalantly.

"Why kidnap me?!"

"Why not start with some introductions, hm?"

The young man ducked his head a bit, ashamed of forgetting his manners. "Sorry. I'm Jaune Arc."

"I know who you are; it's why you're here."

Well, that was ominous.

"My name is Sienna Khan, High Leader of the White Fang."

Ah shit. Captured by the leader of Remnant's leading terrorist organization.

"And," Jaune asked but stopped himself as he saw her ears flick a little. "What would the High Leader want of me?" He wondered if he overstepped, asking himself if he was polite enough to his kidnapper.

"As the High Leader, I want you for ransom and as a bargaining chip." She was not beating around the bush here. "You're a student of Beacon, and it is clear that your headmaster does care about every single one of his own."

His head hung low. "Great."

"Though as Sienna Khan..." she continued, making Jaune's head snap up and look at a piece of paper she was presenting to him. She motioned for him to take it and read.

"Alright. This contract is between Julius Magnus Ar..." he stopped short. "Why is grandpa involved?"

"Read further," she commanded, though in a softer tone.

"Arc and Ashura Khan. Wait." Jaune pointed to Sienna, who nodded at him.

"My father."

"This contract is to determine..."

Jaune read further in silence as his mouth started to hang open. He wanted to wrap his head around all of this. This was absurd, insane, this was so beyond the pale! This…

"This is a contract for an arranged marriage," he finally got out in a monotone voice that belied the storm of emotion within him.

"Indeed."

"I-but...what?" He was well and truly lost.

Sienna just shrugged. "When I found this, I started to do some research on you. Human or no, you are the grandson of the Golden Lion. I could have ignored the contract or just burned it, which would have it annulled, since we are the only two people alive to do so."

"I-" Jaune struggled to get his voice out in that moment. "Why?"

"Three reasons," Sienna replied, still keeping her gaze trained on him. "One, the contract itself. We would have to be either betrothed already to someone else, which I thank the gods for their foresight." Her hands rose in a sarcastic manner as she rolled her eyes. Jaune couldn't help but agree; one fuck up would suffice to ruin their lives.

"Two, your pedigree. You're the grandson of the Golden Lion, one of the most revered figures in Faunus history, particularly during the revolution. Your very existence holds weight."

Not for the first time, the young Arc had to ask himself why his family was so insistent on being heroes. Was it something in heir blood?

"And three."

Jaune stiffened as Sienna leaned forward, granting him the first smile he saw on her face. She looked at him like a predator would a prey, seductive and almost lustful.

"I like what I'm seeing."

* * *

**Merry Christmas!**


	26. Chapter 26: against the heavens

**Hi!**

**Real life has been crazy as of late. Uni picking up, exams to be written, my grandad diagnosed with leukemia...**

**Shit went down, to summarize it.**

**Though after finally finishing that mammoth chapter on my other work, I realized that I had quite a few people waiting for this.**

**So here you go.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

Chapter 26: against the heavens

aka Plot, Motherfucker!

Beacon was quite the shitty place to be on this day.

It may have something to do with the attack of the White Fang in the early morning leaving the students quite dismayed with the feeling of being woken up too early and not being able to go to sleep again. Or, and that was more likely, the bad mood had something to do with a comrade of theirs being abducted, with no one able to prevent or stop it. Morale was already low with all of this going on.

"And after that shit happened," ranted a very angry Brawnz, "We find out that Cinder and her whole team are some fucking terrorists!"

May nodded along, her expression grim. "Who knows what she would have brought upon Vale if her plan had worked."

That thought alone was sobering to all who had assembled to make sense of the whole thing. "So basically," Weiss sighed, "The general assessment is as follows:

One: Jaune Arc, a guy we have all banded together for and forged some incredible bonds of camaraderie with, was abducted by a faunus supremacist group, his chances of survival, or at least not being tortured very slim." The blithe remark had some of the more weak-stomached shiver in fear. Nolan in particular seemed queasy; he had never liked the concept of torture.

"Two: A student of Haven was outed as a terrorist in cahoots with said White Fang. Her goals are unknown to us."

"What is there not to know?!" Dew yelled out. "She lied to get close to us, to this place, and to fuck shit up for everyone!"

"But do you know the reason?"

"Hell if I know; does she even need one?"

"Not everyone does," concurred a crestfallen Neptune, sitting close to Scarlet, who was looking down.

The cafeteria they had assembled in was only used by them right now. Other students were currently making calls to family members to assure them of their safety. Thinking about that opened a hole in Blake's heart.

"Just what are we going to tell his parents?" she whimpered, not looking at all forward to that conversation.

Nebula caressed a peculiar black cloth in her arms. "And I just got done with the muffler..." Pyrrha looked up a little at the mention of the clothing article, her eyes shining with fierce determination.

"We will not give up on him. _I _will not give up on him." She hissed these words out, making the others flinch slightly and Ruby find her resolve.

"That's right!" she declared. "We need to organize a retrieval party instead!"

Neon perked right up. "Retrieval?"

"It's simple! We organize a team of faunus-" she sweeped over everyone present with a gesticulating arm. "-and send them to Menagerie to avoid suspicions by the White Fang!"

Sun curbed her enthusiasm a little. "Why Menagerie?"

"That's where their headquarters lie," Blake supplied.

"Exactly!" Ruby confirmed with a sagely nod. "It must be where they brought him, so we need some volunteers to get there.

"No question," cheered Neon as she raised her hand. Blake did the same as she raised hers in correspondence, along with Sun, Velvet and-

Yang frowned at the last of them. "Why are you raising your hand, ice cream girl?"

Said girl just grinned while using her semblance to conjure some believably lively ears onto her skull. Neo wiggled them for emphasis.

"So, what," Miltia interjected. "The rest is just hanging back until the others come with Jauney?"

To which Weiss helplessly shrugged. "What can we do?"

"I know what we can do," snarled Octavia. "We're gonna interrogate those three and find out what their goals were!"

"I don't think the professors will allow that."

The students turned to the new speaker to see someone with a striking resemblance to the abducted knight.

"Mr Arc!" Nora cheered to the shock of those that hadn't seen the man before. "How are you? Did you have pancakes for breakfast?" His features darkened imperceptibly.

"No, I didn't. My _son _was kidnapped, so I'm here to find out where he is."

"Menagerie is our best bet, Mr Arc," noted Gwen, ignoring a frown from Blake at stealing the credit for that one. John acquitted this with raised eyebrows.

"Menagerie, hm?"

"Yup!" Yang chimed in. "Shame that only some of us are allowed there, so-"

"Not necessarily."

"Pardon?" Ciel was intrigued, despite having to nurse a sudden headache due to the lack of sleep.

The PatriArc grinned. "We just need to phone my old friend Ghira if he would welcome a diplomatic mission onto the island." Weiss caught on immediately, as did Arslan and Blake. The leader of team ABRN looked remarkably frazzled, though whether or not this was bed hair or from the fighting no one could say for certain. "That way you could all come along, with an attachment of one Beacon official and one...well," he looked apprehensive. "The official title is 'hostage', but..."

"Whoa, whoa!" Reese interrupted in alarm. "You can't just show up to-"

"He's not going."

Behind her husband emerged Arturia Arc with the bearing of her ancient noble line, despite her missing son. "I will."

"She has some words for their leader," laughed John, in spite of the general mood, something that Ren wanted to call him out on.

That is, until he noticed the hearts in the man's eyes. So he wisely said nothing, as he could best.

"I don't think that Sienna Khan would like talking to an angry mom demanding things from her on her own home turf," Dew thought out loud before her head shot back up. "No offense!"

"Why should I, since I know that's what's coming," Tori replied with her stern expression right before lowering her head, her face now showing worry. "Though I can only hope my baby is alright..."

"Not to be rude," Nolan hesitantly spoke up next, "But how do you know that the 'diplomatic mission' will be welcomed?"

"Oh, that's because we're friends with the ruling couple on- dear, are you alright?"

The attention was on the father now, who had grown pale in the face. His gaze seemed absent, staring into nothing, which was more than disconcerting to all.

"Honey," he finally spoke. "Do you remember what my dad told us back when Jaune was born?"

The question confused everyone present, as they didn't quite know how that was relevant. Arturia contemplated for a bit before her face lit up.

"Right! He told us about that con..." she trailed off, gaining the same expression of shock her husband had. Now everyone was really worried.

"What is it?" Yang finally asked.

"Well," the man reached up to the back of his neck to perform a motion that reminded them of Jaune. "The good news is that Jaune getting tortured is really unlikely."

Everyone got confused at that. "Why?" they chorused.

Tori grimaced. "That's the bad news."

/-/

Using a vehicle without the ungodly curse of motion sickness was something most people took for granted. Not Jaune, who was resting comfortably in the bed he woke up in, smelling the salty air of the sea through the opened window.

Sienna had broken the whole situation down for him after teasing him a little. The boats had been left at the docks under the pretense that they were cruise ships with an extended stay in Vale, so that the tourists could experience the city to the fullest. In actuality, the High Leader had seeded her own loyal spies throughout town, mapping the place and acting like they supported whatever scheme the Vale Branch was planning. After finding out their true goals, the most loyal of Sienna's own had reported back, which prompted her for an assembly of all members she had brought, to explain the whole thing and why it was a horrible idea.

While all this was going on, one had spied on Beacon itself, who could only be persuaded to act against Adam with the promise of seeing someone dear to her, despite becoming a defector. Jaune blurted out Blake's name, to which Sienna simply nodded. As a matter of fact, that person had brought Jaune to her just as he was knocked out. She was, apparently, able to blend in with her surroundings, which sounded pretty cool to him. Sienna had found out about the engagement back when her father was on his deathbed, and had spent a good while finding her fiance. She merely took advantage of Adam's aggression and enabled his attack solely to delegitimize him in the eyes of senior members and newcomers alike, as the attack had resulted in quite a few losses, while making the divide within the organization clear to the outside world and gain eventual allies or at least sympathizers.

The game of politics was convoluted and Jaune didn't pretend that he could come up with a better plan for something like this on the fly. And to think all of it was started by one of the Vale White Fang questioning the righteousness of the mission and deferring to the highest authority for clarification!

Domino effect, what the everloving hell.

Regardless, Sienna had to see to her troops, making sure that they understood what was going to happen now – a schism within, necessary for the greater cause of equality, so Sienna wholly believed – so he was left to contemplate his situation. Abducted by a fiancee he hadn't known he had, his friends potentially worried beyond belief and his parents on the warpath.

And here he munched on some porridge.

It was not exactly an ideal meal, but it was tasty and he would live. As an aside, he had to compliment the cook and ask for the recipe.

So focused he was on his meal and on the fact that he could actually eat on a transport that he didn't notice someone else entering his room.

"Hello."

That simple word made the young man freeze and whip his head around to the voice. Where before there was no one now stood a young woman with tan skin, sprinkled with some peculiar spots, and a brown ponytail, clad in black and brown leather garbs, giving him a skeptical look.

"You done gawking?"

Swallowing, Jaune replied. "Erm, who are you, if I can ask?" It wouldn't hurt to be polite.

"Ilia Amitola. The girl who brought you here."

"Ah." He nodded, feeling awkward about it all. "Well, erm, thanks?"

"Didn't do it for you."  
"Right."

Silence. She just stood and stared at him with a difficult expression. It was somewhere between anger and curiosity.

"What is your relationship with Blake?"

Well, she was to the point. Her tone wasn't harsh, but demanding still. "Well, we're classmates and sometimes read books together."

One of her eyebrows rose. "That's it?"

"Well," he admitted. "I also helped write her favorite book, so yeah. Oh, and she helps me with training then and again." Ilia nodded along, not overly pacified, but seeming more at ease now.

"So, is it true?" he finally asked the question that bugged him ever since he recognized her as the one described by Sienna. "Can you turn invisible?"

She looked at him with some disdain. "So what if I can?"

"That would be really freaking cool." The boy had stars in his eyes.

Indeed, her skin turned a little pink. Not her cheeks, but her whole skin. "You think that's cool?"

"Yeah! I-I mean yeah." He was embarrassed at yelling, which embarrassed her as well.

"Um, thanks."

Silence.

"So...can you?"

She turned practically invisible right in front of him.

"That's _so cool._"

She turned pink right in front of him. "I-erm" she blurted out. Ilia wasn't sure where she was going with the errant thought she had, but, well, here goes. "I never had human friends. They would make fun of me..."

"Well." Jaune gave her his best and cheesiest Arc grin. "Strangers are friends you haven't met yet. I met you, that means you and me are friends now." Then he started blushing a little. "If you don't mind..."

"No-I mean...I don't mind." Ilia hadn't felt this bashful in a while now. "B-but make no mistake! My heart already belongs to someone- mlp!"

The faunus hadn't meant to have that tidbit slip out of her mouth, yet here she was.

"It's Blake isn't it?"

Curse you, weirdly perceptive guy!

No, wait, that's just logic at work…

Curse you, logic!

"Yes."

Now Jaune felt really awkward. How could he tell her, if he ever could dare to do so, that her crush was crushing on _him_? With petting and grinding, too!

Suddenly, Ilia's head turned to the open window, face marred with confusion.

"Can you hear that?" she asked him.

"Hear what?"

"Screams."

"What screams?"

"They're...frustrated?"

Frustrated screams? What? Regardless, he wanted to get some form of conversation with his new friend going.

"So, do you worship the Bellabooty?"

'_Fuck you brain. Just...fuck you.'_

She turned to him in surprise and anger. Yeah, he deserved that.

"Worship it?" she inquired with a...disbelieving tone? "I dream of caressing it, of licking it like an ice cream cone, of _eating that ass like a champion!_" AJune was takne aback, but decided to roll with it.

"She does have a legendary behind. People talk-"

"Let them talk!" she bellowed. "One day, I will have my head in between those cheeks!"

He suddenly came up with a great follow-up to that. "Could you send me a picture when it happens?"

Ilia turned red, then pink before replying: "Sure, okay."

/-/

"Come on, come on, please..."

Salem rarely felt any sense of urgency in the last few millenia. Fighting a war with her lover-turned-nemesis with the both of them unable to ever truly die had turned into some form of morbid tedium for her. Haste was rarely necessary.

Except for now.

The witch had studied the surprisingly ancient Arc line back over several generations, looking over some branches of the family, which had been wiped out if the lack of records was any indication, all the way to the founder of the line. Hell, she could even find a portrait of her.

That portrait was the source of her haste. The world had known that woman as Joanna Arc, the Blazing Maiden. Blonde, with green-blue eyes and a scar marring her otherwise beautiful face. To Salem, however, that woman bore a striking resemblance to someone she thought had perished in her youth.

Verano, one of her four darlings, taken before their time as petty collateral of a severe marital dispute; their deaths only escalating it all. Yet here this Joanna was, so similar to her darling that it was uncanny.

It couldn't be just some coincidence, could it?

The witch hastened even more now. An ancient ritual was prepared, to see which one of her blood was alive yet. Ancient, yet simple, with the purpose of finding family thought lost, with blood as catalyst.

One singular drop travelled down onto the glyph, which started to shine in an unnatural light. The moment of truth had come. Would her small inkling of hope be dashed or would it show that she wasn't as alone as she thought herself to be?

Finally, the pictogram showed and Salem's breath stilled.

Ten. Ten lights aside from hers glimmered on the pictogram in the air.

She gasped, tears finding their way into her eyes once more, long thought dried.

She had family. One living man, father to eight, seven daughters – and what a number that was! - one son, whose peculiar semblance brought him to the witch's attention in the first place, and one more, small still, but another guy. A baby, basically.

She had family.

She had _family_!

The tears flowed freely now. What she long thought lost was found again. And come hell itself and the return of the gods, this time her family would be safe! _This time,_ she would have the family she craved!

Gods? Relics? Ozma? Who the hell gave a shit, she had actual family still alive!

Cinder.

She had to reach Cinder, inform her of this development, inform her that securing Jaune Arc by any means necessary was top priority.

The scroll rang, Salem not unfamiliar with the peculiar device, but still impatient with it all. She wished she could just call via Seer, but that would blow her agent's cover, wouldn't it?

Finally.

"Cinder," her voice came schooled to calmness once more.

"I'm sorry, she's not available."

No. No no no no _no_!

"_Ozma._"

"It has been quite a while, hasn't it?" his infuriatingly calm voice came over the device. "Shame that it has to be-"

"Cut to the chase," she hissed. "I don't have the patience to deal with your taunts."

"I'm afraid I don't follow." She could _feel_ that smug grin on that asshole's face. "Regardless, I'm left quite curious as to why your henchwoman's henchmen have abducted one of my students."

Hench- the White Fang?! Why did they-

"He and his semblance will be in safe hands." How do you like that, you dustbin?!

"I certainly hope so. For your sake." And with that, he cut off.

Screw that old goat, all the way to hell!

Salem knew that Cinder knew nothing. Most of what she knew about her was hand picked information to feed her, schooled by a lifetime of fighting this war and playing those games that would amount to going fucking nowhere if she couldn't have some sort of future!

For crying out loud, at this point, she only wanted to assemble the relics to get her mortality back so she could age with grace and dignity until she could finally pass on. She had family to see grow u; seeing them wither and die while she herself was left unaging would be heartbreaking.

Fuck becoming a god, she wanted to truly live again!

"Where is it- MOBY!"

Upon being called, a monstrosity emerged. Large as a city, dwarfing even the greatest of Atlesian battleships, a colossal whale Grimm emerged from the endless mire of the Grimmlands and floated over to its mistress.

This was Moby, the largest of all Grimm.

'_I'm coming; whether you like it or not, I _will_ have my family!_'


	27. Chapter 27: heavy metals

**Return!**

**Yes, I know, it's only because of the current situation and quarantine, but I managed to overcome my writers block and actually bothered to flesh out the inevitable finale of this wild ride.**

**Yes, I know, I should be updating more, but I'll have you know!**

**I'm also working on some smut over on Ao3.**

**Also, I apologize for the joke(s) in the title.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a knight

chapter 27: heavy metals

John was agitated right now. Part of it stemmed from the general reaction to the sudden reveal of Jaune being promised to a girl right after his birth by Julius Arc, part of it by him remembering it in the first place.

He shivered at recalling the reception of the news. The emotions with the girls ran the gamut from 'despair' to 'fuckraeg', whatever the hell that word meant. The silver-haired girl with the combat skirt used it before running off into the forest, presumably to murder Grimm, followed by her team, Nora and Yang.

This whole thing going on, along with his wife trying to calm them down, was the reason why he slinked off to do something else that weighed on his mind. The presumed terrorists which had been captured were sitting within specialized holding cells on a secondary Atlas airship with tight security measures, making it very difficult to get in without clearance.

Except that John used his natural charisma, along with some veiled threats and a bit of bluffing about having the good general's blessing to interrogate the prisoners.

Then he stood before Winter Schnee. The specialist wasn't fooled at all regarding his clearance and wanted to check back with Ironwood. Except that the father played a certain card. Sure, it was somewhat underhanded, but it was a necessity to have these questions churning in his mind answered.

He asked her if she wouldn't do the same if their roles were reversed. The Schnee, grumbling and huffing, conceded the point and allowed it, as long as the information he extracted from the three was useful.

They hadn't talked at all so far. Winter proposed they split up for now, her interrogating Emerald Sustrai, him questioning Mercury Black, then the two meeting up to confront Cinder Fall, the mastermind behind the sabotage of the CCT and the Atlesian Knights.

And so it came that Johnathan Arc, loving and doting father of eight, stood before the cell of one Mercury Black.

"Young man," he spoke up. The gray-haired boy looked at him with a strange expression; a faked cockiness which was entirely misplaced, considering his situation.

"So. What brings you here, huh?" John's eyes narrowed at the tone; it wasn't one who was assured of his eventual victory, but someone who desperately wanted to be assured because facing reality was painful right now.

It didn't make any sense. Winter had briefed him about the three. Mercury Black, son of assassin Marcus Black, a man notorious for doing any job as long as the money was good. Neither remorse nor conscience, he was perfect for any shady person with shady business to do. Until he seemed to have bit it, as his remains were recovered in what appeared to be his home.

Murdered. Either by a rival or…

"I have some questions to ask you, young man." John's voice was stern and fatherly, trying to ease him in. The apparent assassin didn't seem to buy it.

"Really now? About what, huh? 'Cause lemme tell you..."

He leaned forward. John knew enough to recognize the old bait-and-switch; he wouldn't-

"I'll tell you everything."

That caught the PatriArc off-guard. Mercury's expression seemed sad, defeated. "Look, just ask me so I can go back to feel like shit for no reason."

"I know of your father."

"Oh sure, begin with that." He rolled his eyes. "Asshole had it coming from a mile away."

"So you killed him?" Patricide was frowned upon, but if the victim in this case was a massive, flaming, irredeemable asshole responsible for the death of his mother, John would overlook it.

"Yup. No remorse." Merc leaned back on his cot, staring the father straight in the eyes. "Anything else?"

Well, since he asked… "Why did your group upload a virus into the CCT?"

"You'll have to ask Cinder that," the kid grumbled. "She was so smug about it. Called it the 'distraction'. I'm just the hired muscle, and only because my old man wasn't available anymore."

So Cinder initially desired the services of Marcus Black, which was worrying all on its own. No one with good intentions had ever hired _him._

"Alright. One more, and I'll be out of your hair." A part of John pitied the youth in his holding cell. It was the fatherly part that yelled out to him that this boy had lived under a tyrant of a father for all his life, stripped of a more carefree youth, something that everyone should be able to enjoy once in their life.

"Was my son involved in your plans?"

The reaction he got was curious. The young man in his cell seemed to struggle with himself before…

well he started ranting.

"So basically, we're initially after some chick Cinder called the Fall Maiden. Apparently had some awesome powers that she wanted."

John nodded along, now knowing about Amber being a severely injured agent of Ozpin's and VIP, if only because they saw her stumbling out of the gates to give Cinder an asskicking. She was somewhat stable, but had to recuperate for now, at least until she got her powers transferred back to her. John had wondered how siphoning someone's aura off completely was possible and had shivered at the implications

"But then she got boxblocked, so we had to retreat until we got to Beacon to finish the job. Fuck knows where she was exactly though, so that took a while in and of itself. Oh yeah, and Lionheart is in on the whole thing, got us our alibi as transfer students from Haven."

A startling revelation for certain. Ironwood and Ozpin would want to hear this.

"If you're asking why I'm throwing him under the bus, well, I can't stand the cowering prick. Anyway, of to Beacon we fuck, only to hear that the festival is postponed, and apparently the whole thing can't go without it. Oh, and Cinder managed to get the White Fang in. Turns out Adam Taurus is exactly the extremist everyone thought him to be. Edgy fucker," Mercury added under his breath.

"So Cinder decided to take the time and go deep cover, since everyone is doing it. You know what happened after that?" John waited until he told him. They tended to do that with rhetoric questions. "She met Jaune, said he was 'interesting'. So Emerald with her mommy complex gets to know him and apparently develops a daddy complex, I don't fucking know. Meanwhile I meet with some dudes who happened to be the former resident assholes. You know what happened there? Well?"

John waited again.

"They fucking got to backstories. I thought _I _had it bad with my fucking old man. Dude, I ain't got shit on Sky. _Fucking Sky!_ Dude looks like he has constantly wet hair and whines about the color of his toast, but ends up cheerfully, fucking _cheerfully_, recount the days when he was whored out by his own mom as if it didn't bother him! And it doesn't anymore, according to him!"

He had to be kidding. John refused to believe that any parent would be that evil to their offspring, not even Marcus Black.

"Fucking." The young man took a deep breath, savoring at least some new air in his lungs, as stale as it was. "Look. Before this crazy fucker just came out with something like that, I thought I had a bad lot. Suddenly I felt like some dipshit whining about how my dad wasn't nice to me."

"Professionals have standards, all of them. My old man's were fucking low, but he had them. Me? I draw the line at that shit, hell I'd work for free if it meant getting rid of human turds like that. It's why I told a watered down version of my own story to Jaune when he asked. I didn't want to, but he has that something that just makes you feel like you could tell him anything and he wouldn't judge."

Mercury, at first high strung, now slumped in his position with a weary sigh. "The dude, your son, he's a good guy. Honestly. We didn't even really have any interest at first. Then Cinder wanted to scout out the partner of the Invincible Girl, and suddenly he himself caught her interest. That got Emerald to watch him because, fuck if I know, pretty sure it's a crush on her. Then she just comes back and goes 'I see what she sees in him.'."

"So I go. And with everything...the dude suddenly develops a bomb-ass semblance, so apparently Cinder wants to at least kidnap him. I mean, can you blame her, with that semblance? I..." Mercury sighed once more. "This whole thing, it was the closest thing I ever came to a normal life. Suddenly we weren't assassins and terrorist anymore. We were just like the other students, and you know what? It was a great fucking time."

Johnathan looked at the boy before him, not the assassin sabotaging the CCT, not the son of the bastard who murdered his mother, just a boy alone against the world, fighting tooth and nail for his own survival.

"Son," John began, Mercury confused about the address. "Seeing as you provided some valuable intel, I'll see if I can get you pardoned." The young man scoffed derisively at the notion.

"Yeah, right," he snarled. "Even if you could pull it off, the others won't be forgiving me. Now with our cover blown, there's no chance to turn back anymore."

There was something in his eyes, something that, secretly, yearned for it all to return to how it was, to just be Merc from Haven rather than hired assassin Mercury Black.

"You have my word," retorted John, seeing this. "I will make sure that everyone knows how you got roped into this. I'm not sure if the other two are just pawns themselves and how much they believe in their cause, but you? I want to help you, young man."

"And why the hell would you do that?!"

"Because I want to." The seasoned huntsman turned to walk away with that, the interrogation finished. "I don't need a better reason."

/-/

The final stretch of a rather unsettling chain of interviews was upon the father of eight and if the sour expression on the specialist's face was anything to go by, things were unsuccessful on her end.

"She doesn't talk." Her tone carried a hint of annoyance. "Miss Sustrai is quite loyal to Miss Fall and I can only imagine why."

"He sung like a bird." Her face softened a little, even as her gaze sharpened. "Forceful recruitment. He was essentially pressured into her service. Would a pardon for him be possible?"

"We would have to review his particular case further. Is he repentant at least?"

"Call it a change of heart."

Winter made a non-committal sound before facing the large metal door in front of the two. Behind that door, through a corridor, was an imprisoned terrorist mastermind, someone who had the destruction of Beacon and the murder of one of Ozpin's agents on her mind for reasons unknown. Regardless of her reasons, however, she was dangerous and not to be taken lightly.

Imagine their surprise when, expecting a haughty woman with a condescending smirk on her lips, looking like all was part of her plan, they saw a hollow looking woman staring down at the floor while sitting huddled on her own cot. Her silky black hair draped over one of her eyes like a shadow, her face expressionless.

All in all, Cinder Fall didn't seem like an invincible mastermind.

"So," John began before Winter started speaking.

"Cinder Fall. Your minion talked regarding your plans and connections. As it stands right now, you are guilty of treason and conspiracy against the kingdoms. The punishment for this is the sealing of your aura. Do you have anything to say to defend yourself?"

Against Winter's somewhat haughty yet still professional tone Cinder said...nothing. She didn't even react. This didn't sit well with the Schnee, whose expression grew displeased with her silence.

"Specialist if I may." The PatriArc stepped forward. The young lady before him, according to his wife, had seemed rather taken by their son. However, judging by what Mercury said, this could have very well been a deception, a ruse to get close to Jaune and use him.

John didn't like the implications, not one bit.

"We know of your plans, but not of your motivations. What drove you to do this, to plan all this? Is Lionheart your boss? If yes, what would all this accomplish for him?"

Nothing again, even as he mentioned the traitorous headmaster. Not a flinch, not a shiver, nothing. She was still breathing, sure, but the rest of her was just _dead_.

"How did you want to involve my son into all this?" He raised his voice, slowly growing aggravated. "What made you think he would go along with all this? Well?!"

Again, Cinder didn't respond. John, already turning around with Winter, then barely caught a sentence out of her mouth.

"...White Fang rogue."

With one glare, both her interrogators waited for her to elaborate. "Rogue, you say?"

"They should have waited," Cinder finally replied, this time a little louder, but with a hollow voice. "I could have slipped in and out, with no one noticing. Amber would have died painlessly, no one had to know. The White Fang would have stirred trouble at the docks. A double cross..."

So those were her initial plans before everything went pear shaped. However still, Johnathan's question wasn't answered yet.

"And what about Jaune?" he demanded to know. The next words out of her mouth quelled his anger in an instant, replacing it with confusion.

"He was my Happily Ever After." A sadness crept into the terrorists voice. "He wouldn't want me anymore after hearing this. Why should he? He has so many yearning for his heart. But still..." Her head sank onto her knees, which she had been hugging for a while now.

"I just wanted a part of this. It would have been..."

She never finished that sentence, yet both specialist and veteran huntsman understood now, at least in part. Cinder wasn't responsive to any more queries after that, so they let her be.

The both of them walked all the way back to the boarding area on the airship for the bullheads, eager to return to the headmasters with the news. What neither of them noticed was that a few of the guards they passed were either sweating nervously, shivering or simply absent.

Neither of the two knew or considered that those were, in fact, off to a date with Rosie Palms. Getting approached by a blonde tower of a man did things to you, especially if he demanded passage via kabedon.

/-/

The tension within the headmaster's office was quite palpable, particularly after Ozpin was confronted by Ironwood regarding a certain someone's transcripts. While Ironwood would concede that this matter in and of itself was under Ozpin's jurisdiction, the suspicion the good general had uttered rose the tensions more than anything else.

Glynda Goodwitch gave her old friend her fiercest glare. "You can't be serious, James. This wouldn't make any sense in the first place!"

"Wouldn't it?" he retorted with an almost flippant tone. "What if Mr Arc was their vanguard and fed them information? The fact that a man with forged transcripts applies to Beacon within the same timeframe as their planned attack on Beacon and Amber can't be a coincidence. Ozpin, Mr Arc could be a spy of hers!"

"Jimmy," Qrow interjected, kicking off the wall he had leaned against up until that moment. "That theory is full of holes. Most of all, chances are that Ozzy was aware of the kid's transcripts anyway and allowed him in regardless, but kept a close eye. If the kid conversed with her, he would know."

The general didn't quite buy it, instead glaring at Ozpin, who sipped his beverage of choice with the usual infuriating calm. "Well?"

Ozpin deigned to answer. "What Qrow said is accurate, James. As an aside, I sincerely doubt that Mr Arc is one of her agents, regardless of Ms Fall's interest in him. Oh, and please do not utter your suspicions within earshot of his parents."

"Oh please do, Jimmy. "Qrow grinned at the mental image. "i want to see you getting beaten up with your own arm." Ironwood didn't dignify that with a response, instead straightening his posture and breathing in deep.

"I do hope that your faith in the now kidnapped Mr Arc is not unfounded. Apart from that, do you think-"

"I swear, if you accuse my son of being in league with the White Fang, I'm going to lose my shit."

Johnathan Arc had arrived, with Winter Schnee in tow. Her own expression was one of surprise and indignation at the informal address to the general, even if she could understand why the PatriArc fell back to that. Ironwood turned to the two, unfazed but pensive regarding their presence.

"Specialist Schnee, Mr Arc. May I ask what brings you here?"

"General." Winter saluted, always mindful of her duties and proper decorum. "We conducted an interrogation of the three suspects and have achieved some results."

The overall information was relayed curtly and with leaving out unnecessary information. Naturally, the news that Lionheart had aided Cinder were not well received.

"Bastard," Ironwood snarled. Glynda was no better, her glare only intensifying, but not directed towards James anymore. Ozpin sighed and leaned back into is chair, his expression downcast.

"So he betrayed us. Why?"

"Why?" Qrow scoffed. "Leo's a coward, Oz. Chances are he did it to save his own hide. Sure, you thought convincing him that he's safer working under you worked for a time, but now he turned on us." Glynda directed her attention to the father of eight, her gaze now one of concern.

"And you're certain of her motives regarding your son, John? For all we know she could be lying."

John shook his head at that. "You can't fake being _that_ broken, Glynda. She seemed dead inside. Also, am I missing something here?"

No one bothered to answer that, instead focussing on the task at hand.

"Miss Goodwitch," Ozpin decided. "Please meet up with Mrs Arc to prepare for your departure towards Menagerie. Make sure to have the Belladonnas informed of your arrival." The headmistress nodded and went to the elevator.

"James, make sure to purge any trace of the virus, but not before finding out who could have programmed it. With this level of sophistication, it could only be someone very skilled in that field, which leaves few options."

"Very well."

"I'm off to Haven," Qrow declared, now all business. "Don't phone ahead; I want it to be a surprise." With that, he jumped out of the window and turned into a bird, flying off.

'_What- was he always able to do that?_' It was John's first time seeing his transformation.

"Mr Arc."

John looked at Ozpin, this enigma of a man, staring into his green eyes, which seemed to hold unfathomable wisdom and secrets.

"Do you truly want to work on rehabilitating Mr Black?"

"If I can," he replied, still staring at the man, trying to coax some wisdom out of him. "I want to work on rehabilitating the all."

"Why?"

"Because they seem less terrorists and more scared children to me right now."

The headmaster chuckled at that and shook his head. "You and your bleeding heart."

"It's an Arc thing," John chuckled, scratching the back of his head.


	28. Chapter 28: boat trip

**It returns!**

**Four months of university and other projects, as well as a road block, hindered me here...**

**Ah well, I'm back now. Hopefully still as "good" as before.**

**Enjoy!**

For want of a Knight

Chapter 28: boat trip!

"Ruby, get out of the suitcase."

"No! Take me with you!"

It wasn't really easy to pack for a voyage lasting two weeks. A girl acting like a clingy dog and sitting down in the suitcase did not help at all. Blake felt her headache approaching already.

"We _can't_, Ruby," she reasoned, or at least tried. "Any more humans would be difficult to explain, and we're a huge group already."

"You can smuggle me along! No one has to know!"

"I won't have any place for spare clothes!"

Ruby, still sitting in the open suitcase, scoffed. "Who needs spare clothes?"

"We do. Menagerie is hot and humid, and the sea air alone can leave some salt residue on your clothes."

"But..."

"We would be on sea for fourteen days at the most. Seven at the least." That those estimates were still generous, with the threat of Grimm lurking even at high sea was left unsaid.

Ruby finally conceded, but did so with a pout. "You could carry me in a second suitcase, but nooo, Blake Belladonna is a girl who doesn't pack much, so it gets suspicious!" That had been Blake's first counter against Ruby's first argument to take her with the "retrieval force". The actual and official name was "ambassadorial group", but the girls were united in naming the brave faunus – and Neo – who dared to venture in the den of the terrorists as such.

Also it sounded more awesome, as Ruby, Reese, Neon and Nora insisted. Go figure.

"Ruby," Weiss finally intervened. She had held back long enough to watch, in Blake's opinion. Yang was understandable; that girl was all for her adorable sister acting like this, but Weiss?

The heiress absent-mindedly patted her leader's head as she spoke: "Just believe in Blake, okay? She will do her best to bring Jaune back to us unspoiled."

Ruby was confused. "What does 'unspoiled' mean?"

"Unsullied," Weiss supplied. A quizzical and plain cute head tilt was her answer. She had to hold back on treating Ruby like a puppy for a good while now, and that gesture was not helping.

Sue her, she was a dog person.

"Still virgin," Yang resolved after a hearty guffaw. Obviously, the buxom brawler had a good time watching all of this. It was prime entertainment to her!

"That," the heiress confirmed as she still was petting Ruby like the puppy she seemed to be. The girl in red leaned into the touch on instinct, reminded of a happier time where her mother was still alive. This, however, was also quite good; Weiss' hands were really soft.

"This is precious to watch, but can I finally get my suitcase packed?"

"Not yet," two partners chorused.

/-/

"...and remember to hold back," Nora demanded. "Team JNPR gets first dibs!"

"Why you?" Ruby demanded to know. "I am his first friend!"  
"And we are his team," Ren interjected. As soon as he spoke, some girls mulled over what was said. They had all gathered at the docks to send the "Task force" off on their noble mission to retrieve their husbando. Weird how they had united under one purpose and had, somehow, agreed that sharing was better than risking their friendships. Of course, abandoning their quest for the Arc's Arc had been an option, but then he had all those little moments with each of them!

Arslan found herself beyond jealous. The first guy she was genuinely interested in, and so many others vied for his attention. It was frustrating, sure, but it was also fun. Joking around, flirting a little...hell, she and Reese shared a little moment where they experimented-

This was not the time to think about that. Ever since Jaune and her started doing yoga together, team ABRN's leader was beyond sexually frustrated. She _saw_ his bulge during their positions, along his blushing face! He had been checking her out while she was stretching herself and showing off, which only turned her on even more!

Perhaps Coco knew some remedy. If not, the literal second Jaune would crawl out of JNPR's dorm, she would abduct him, tie him to the nearest bed and, along with Reese, _go to town_.

Yup, she needed that remedy. Especially after briefly imagining the tender embrace of- _how in the hell is it that this stuff gets so romanticized while hetero stuff is reduced to the sexual?_ Arslan shook her head. It was best not to travel down that rabbit hole.

Speaking of rabbits…

"Neo," Velvet stared at the diminutive assassin. "You're hiding something."

The girl indeed looked like the cat that caught the canary. While it was a fitting innuendo for whenever Blake would corner Jaune, Arslan noted, something about this girl's expression didn't sit right with her. Said ice-cream fetishist looked mockingly aghast, complete with a 'who-me?' gesture.

Ruby was not having it. "Spill."

The girl was spilling alright, but it was limited to her scroll. The only one present who could decipher her sign language was Mama Arc, and that woman looked out of it. Something something utter happiness. The ashen blonde wouldn't have to lie to say that she liked the woman, even if she was a tad much.

Kind of like a Nora lite, but with less fixation on pancakes and explosives.

So, not much like Nora.

Fuck these comparisons, whatever Neo had to 'say' was more important.

Boy, did she have something to say.

"You did _what_?" yelled Ruby along with her team. The gnome urged them to read further, but Arslan found it difficult to pay attention, what with all this jealousy.

That goblin had slept with her man, apparently using some emotional weakness as her 'in'. Several girls looked inches away from murder, so it had to be an adult who would bring back the order, right?

Wrong. Goodwitch looked like she was about to explode, while Arturia was over the moon, bouncing in one place and chanting 'grandbabies' quietly to herself.

Lip-reading was a useful skill to have.

Finally, Pyrrha, despite seeming to want a skewered Neopolitan right now, shouted at all of them to keep quiet and read the rest aloud. That girl had a surprising set of lungs on her. Then she was wilting back into her blushing shyness and all was normal again.

Relatively speaking.

It was Weiss who read the rest of the message, about how Jaune seemed to be actually polyamrous; that is to say, able to love them all equally without being a player. They all quieted down to take in those words. Well, save for Mama Arc, who utterly lost it and ran around the pier, raising her arms and laughing like mad. Then she ran over to each and every one of the girls and kissed them on the head. Orphans like Nora looked utterly mollified and happy with that motion.

The fact that 'Operation Ultra-Mighty-Harem-Of-Awesome' (trademark pending) was a definite go notwithstanding. It was Nora's idea, down to the name, even if it was more of a polyamorous relationship in between all of them.

Hence the experimentation with one another. Some liked it, others not so much. To each their own.

"That...is good to know," Miltia conceded.

"But you're still on thin ice," Melanie added. Neo took the remaining and fading hostility in stride. Hell, even Glynda looked a little calmer now, even as Tori hugged the life out of her.

"Well, change of plans!" Nora announced. "Whoever gets with him on the boat trip or on Menagerie is on time out once you all get back. And JNPR gets first! I _will_ be the bacon in the bacon pancake sandwich! Mmm, bacon pancakes..."

"Remind me to introduce you to Solitas-style pancakes," Neon yelled back as she ascended the catwalk with her pink suitcase. "Everyone on board! The ship won't wait forever!"

"I'ma kick your ass when you get home, ice-cream!" Yang yelled up at a silently giggling Neo running on deck.

/-/

"You can release me now, Tori," Glynda sighed as the commotion erupted again; some girls swearing vengeance for their stolen thunder, others yelling for souvenirs. The teacher could swear there were more of them in the crowd…

Then again, she could use a cruise as vacation. Let Tori handle the girls; this teacher will get a tan. Now there was a titillating thought...a certain blonde kissing along her tanlines…

shelving that for later.

"We are going now! Let's go, people! Onward and forward!"

"That's the same thing, Neon!" Ciel yelled up to the ship as Coco laughed.

"Hey, Velv!" she yelled. Once he's back, we get our costumes and give him a good night, yeah?" The bunny answered with a blush and a shy nod.

Glynda could only sigh to the heavens at such frivolous banter. Then again, she was the one fantasizing about her student, who so happened to be the son of her friend…

This was too confusing.

'_Screw it,_' she decided. '_This is my vacation now, I decided s__o__, and nobody will stop me_.'

/-/

CantRushTheThrush: and the ships have left the harbor!

ReleaseTheDoves: You mean ship

CantRushTheThrush: I know what I said.

MonkeyBusiness: I live!

SkyHigh: where have you been

MonkeyBusiness: hungover

SkyHigh: but you were sober during the battle

MonkeyBusiness: I drank some more

MonkeyBusiness: Nolan brews the strong stuff

NorthNolan: that I do

ReleaseTheDoves: I still don't approve of you using that nickname

NorthNolan: and I told you that you can suck it.

SkyHigh: shame about Merc being a terrorist though

CantRushTheThrush: I KNOW. Dude was fun to talk to

SkyHigh: I mean

SkyHigh: I saw Mr Arc go to his jail cell

SkyHigh: maybe rehab?

ReleaseTheDoves: that's for drugs

ReleaseTheDoves: btws, has anyone seen Cardin? He hasn't been back since yesterday.

SkyHigh: he only wrote: "Need to pay my mom a visit after this shit went down. She's a worrywart."

SkyHigh: been gone since

MonkeyBusiness: think he's got a gf?

ReleaseTheDoves:….

SkyHigh: m8

CantRushTheThrush: If he has, we party. Nolan?

NorthNolan: already mixing my stuff

MonkeyBusiness: you know how that sounds, right?

NorthNolan: ?

MonkeyBusiness: nvm

/-/

"What the _fuck_ is that?!"

While the girls were going after him on the boat and some serious stuff was resolved with the amazing ease of maidens on a long-term mission, Jaune was busy dueling the chief cook on the ship. Sienna and the other faunus of the White fang looked on with amusement at the cook-off. Some of the more supremacist faunus had expressed open doubt that a mere human could keep up with a faunus in terms of cooking when Jaune had asked to use the kitchen. For the cook, this was a thing of pride, so the cook-off was initiated, with Sienna allowing it to happen. The sole condition was to waste as little on ingredients as possible.

Reasonable, considering they were still on a ship, and every gram of food counted.

When it started, two things were unveiled soon enough. One, Jaune was a very competent cook. He moved with precision and pure focus, preparing a few seafood dishes alongside a steak, seasoning them all and cooking all of it in different pans. Braising the fish and handling the shakers never before seemed like an art form to any of the people watching, but here this human was.

The other thing though, and that amazed Sienna, was that her fiancee was immensely pedantic in terms of cooking. He had chanted to himself "just need to burn some eggs, just need to burn some, ground myself, ground myself..." and it had puzzled the tiger faunus. Little had made sense about that, but she was soon enough distracted by the utterly heavenly smell of a butter-basted steak with a touch of grated cheese – the good one from Vale – and some mashed potatoes as garnish. Her very own dish that she couldn't wait for.

Who knew that a man cooking for her could be a turn-on for Sienna?

Then it began. The incensed screaming as Jaune was done and looked over to the cook, who felt his pride on the line and committed a no-go among chefs.

He was cutting corners.

"This fish, fucking _look at it,_" he yelled, his face a vicious grimace. "Is this what you planned on serving, dickface?!"

"I'm not dickface, you pretentious human," the chef yelled back. "This fish is perfectly fine-"

"_Perfectly fine?!_" Jaune parroted, his voice breaking in his anger. "Touch it, you fuck! I counted the time on that and I can tell you it's raw in the middle!"

The chef refused, staring at this human daring to question his ability. His fellow faunus protested, defending their own, until the Khan stepped forward. Taking her heavenly steak – it glistened with juices! Taking fork and knife and gushing on the inside on how good it looked, she cut a piece of this slice of heaven and bit into it.

'_Oh, you are going to get laid today, husband._'

While her thoughts rushed a bit forward, her mouth was in paradise. Cooked to perfection and seasoned just right, tasting this thing made her purr out loud! She couldn't help herself and dug in fiercely.

Meanwhile, Jaune had cut the offending piece of fish and revealed a pink inside, presenting it to the stunned chef.

"I..." The man slumped in defeat. "Just..."

The blonde sighed at him. "Look. I get your pride in your cooking. I get too intense with it myself, which is why my mom came up with this ritual where I purposely burn my eggs. Neither of us know why it works, but we don't question it. It still works; the last time I got so worked up was long ago."

Jaune had his hand on the chef's shoulder the whole time. The man looked at this human and saw neither malice nor contempt or superiority. He saw compassion and drive.

This was a good human.

"Care to teach me some tricks, human?" the man asked.

"It's Jaune," the 'prisoner* replied. "And sure."

Meanwhile, Sienna and the few chosen people for testing the meals were enjoying a taste experience unlike any other. The Khan was not alone with her fantasies of their hostage in an apron.  
_And nothing else_.

/-/

Two days had passed on the high sea, ever since they departed, and not much could be said at all.

Glynda was enjoying taking a load off while Tori wrangled the girls with gusto. This should have been a relaxing trip, at least until they got to Menagerie, where they had to negotiate for releasing her boyto- _student_.

Ever since Tori started teasing her about things, her fantasies strayed further and further, becoming naughtier and naughtier.

"uuurgh..."

The moment was ruined. Goodwitch suppressed a sigh. She had expected seasickness, people getting drunk at the minibar or fiddling with the stuff Ironwood asked them to take with.

It had been part of a reparation effort towards the faunus community as a whole. A miniature CCT, a node point tower that ran towards Vacuo and, from there, the whole world. Some engineers accompanied them to assemble the thing, too.

All of it to get a stronger hand at negotiations, then and in the future, something she appreciated the man for.

What she did not expect were stowaways.

"Ahh, this is nice," Nebula sighed as she laid down on the chair next to Glynda's, basking in the sun. The entire team NDGO had successfully hidden themselves in the cargo hold inside the ship. It was utterly irresponsible of them but Tori had convinced her to take them with them all on to land.

They were now hired as bodyguards of Arturia Arc, and their payment would consist of cookies.

Fine and dandy, maybe, if this mission wasn't so crucial to the survival of_ your own son, Tori_. However, that woman was a tad stubborn in regards to acquiring future daughters-in-law, so nothing could be done.

Not even as May Zedong climbed out of another crate.

Belladonna nearly had an aneurysm out of rage, which the MatriArc had to mollify by hugging. The sniper of team BRNZ was hired as well, with the same pay as NDGO. Neon welcomed the newcomers, Velvet facepalmed and Neo-

Well, she repeated what she said to the others back at the docks.

One chase sequence later and everyone was calmed down enough to see reason. Same old, same old. Peace was restored and the girls were thirsty.  
Literally. The first thing they did was guzzle one whole water bottle each.

Enough of that, though. Glynda was intent to make the best of all this, even as her silence was disturbed by the creaking of another chair, being burdened with another body.

"Oh my _fuck!_ May!" Dew Gayl could be heard. Miss Goodwitch turned around to chastise her, only to see the reason for this commotion.

Miss Zedong had shed her usual attire for a rather skimpy bikini, unveiling a bafflingly voluptuous figure. The young woman's boobs were _massive_, rivalling Glynda's own. With May, more on display, considering the good witch's apparel was the more conservative in between the two.

The poor girl blushed under the catcalls and quietly complained about it. "No other swimsuit could fit me..."

This was going to be less relaxing than Glynda thought. She sympathized with the girl's plight, having had a similar problem in her age.

"Well, I think you should flaunt it," Nebula Violette interjected, her voice hinting at her surprise at May's figure. "I mean, wow."

The girl in question shrank into herself. Yup, this was going to be difficult...


End file.
